How to Lose James
by Loves to dance
Summary: Based on the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Lily is tired of James asking her out, so when the suggestion comes up of dating him and driving him away, she does just that. But what if she actually starts to fall for him in the process?
1. The Bet

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

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"Seventh year already, can you believe we've made it this far?" James Potter asked his three best friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.

It was the first day back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and this was the gang's last year there. And now, they were currently on the Hogwarts Express, riding the train to their favorite school ever.

"I know, it's hard to believe we haven't been expelled yet," Sirius Black said with a laugh. When he laughed he always had an attractiveness about him. He looked charming, yet seductive all at the same time, making girls go crazy for him. That and his gorgeous black hair and puppy dog brown eyes.

It was quite true too. The four boys made up a group, in which they called themselves the Marauders. And as a group, they had probably broken more school rules than the rest of the school combined. They were always sneaking out of the castle late at night, or running down to the kitchens for a late night snack. Not to mention the constant hexing on their fellow classmates.

"I still can't believe that Dumbledore actually made you Head Boy, Prongs!" Peter said. He shook his blonde hair out of his watery blue eyes as he spoke, an action that he had to do quite often.

Prongs was James's nickname. It happened a few years ago, the greatest thing the Marauders ever pulled off. You see, Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Once a month he was forced to leave the castle grounds so that he could transform without harming anyone. This did not set well with his three best friends. They hated the thought of their friend having to be all alone during the full moon.

And to stop that, they devised a plan. A plan that was both very illegal and very dangerous. But they pulled it off, James, Sirius, and Peter all became Animagi. James could transform into a stag, Sirius a large dog, and Peter a rat. Now, since it was safe to do so as animals, they all accompanied Remus during his transformations, running wild once a month.

"Yeah, seriously, he must have been off his rocker," Sirius said.

"I know," James admitted, he too was wondering what possessed their Headmaster to make him Head Boy. But the one good thing about it though, was that Lily Evans was hands down going to be made Head Girl.

James smiled just thinking about her. She was a gorgeous red haired girl in their year, also in Gryffindor House. She had almond shaped green eyes that made any guy tremble with love beneath her stare. Lily had perfect white teeth that shined whenever she flashed her award winning smile.

She was perfect, and James knew already that he loved her. The only problem was that the feelings weren't returned. He had being chasing after her since their fifth year. He was charming whenever she was around, he showed off without even meaning to. Yet, she still wouldn't give him the time of day.

In fact, she was the only girl in the entire school that wouldn't give James Potter or any of the other Marauders the time of day. She couldn't stand any of them, not even Remus who was by far the most responsible out of the four boys. He even looked the most responsible, with his milk chocolate colored hair and soothing brown eyes. But Lily didn't like him either.

She was different though, much different. She wasn't fooled by James's messy black hair, hazel eyes, 6'2" frame, outstanding grades, or even by the fact that he had been elected Quidditch captain in his sixth year. She didn't care about his good looks, or even his smile that drove most girls crazy. No, Lily Evans wasn't just different, she was far from ordinary. But it was this and so much more that drew him towards her.

"Thinking of a certain Miss Evans?" Remus asked.

James snapped back into reality, blushed and answered, "How'd you know?"

"Well, for starters you were staring off into space," Remus told him.

"And we were just talking about you being Head Boy, and she's obviously Head Girl," Sirius added.

"And, when isn't your mind on Evans?" Peter said, it wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Okay, you caught me," James told the group. "I can tell though, this year's going to be different. This is going to be the year that she's going to go out with me."

All three of his friends burst out laughing at that statement. Lily Evans, date James Potter, fat chance there. Every time James asked her out before, she'd come up with some witty response, saying that she'd rather date the Giant Squid, or that she'd rather date Snape. And those two things were definitely at the very bottom of the datable list, especially Snape.

Severus Snape was also in their year, but he belonged to Slytherin House. The house that nearly every dark wizard had graduated from. James often said that if he had gotten sorted into Slytherin, he'd drop out of Hogwarts and learn his spells at home from his mother. Snape was certainly the most disgusting kid in their grade. It looked like he never showered, judging by his greasy hair anyways. Snape was also the target for most of the Marauders pranks. Whether it be hanging him upside down from a tree or hexing him until he needed to visit the infirmary.

Most students loved to watch them beat up on him, even members of his own house. He was such an oddball. The only student who didn't like to watch the hexing occur was none other than Lily Evans. She stopped them every time they did, only to be called a Mudblood by Snape.

Although he called her the foul name that made fun of her muggle parentage, she never failed to come to his side, or any other student who the Marauders picked on. Lily was just too sweet for her own good, always wanting to protect the world from any kind of danger, including that of her own classmates.

"I'm serious," James said while crossing his arms. His friends were still laughing at the thought of Lily giving him a chance.

"What makes you think she'll even consider you?" Remus asked, trying his hardest to bring his laughter to a stop.

"Because, I'm exactly the kind of guy she needs. I'm smart, talented, good looking," James started.

"And modest too," Peter joked.

"Oh, shut it," James snapped, only half joking, "Really though, I'm what she needs. I know what women want, I know how to please them. I know when to comfort them and how. I know how to win them into my heart. I could make any woman fall in love with me."

"Then why hasn't she dated you yet? You've been after her for two years already," Remus said.

"Yes, but you see, I was lacking one quality then that I have now. Maturity," James told his friends.

With that said all three of them cracked up laughing once again. James Potter, mature? Not a chance there. He still found putting off dungbombs in the corridor to be the most exciting thing at Hogwarts, that and watching the caretaker clean up after them.

"I'm not kidding, even my mother and father said I've matured a lot of the summer," James said.

"But you're forgetting that they were slightly drunk at the time," Sirius reminded him. He lived with the Potters every summer and holiday since their fifth year, when his own parents disowned him because he didn't want to join the most feared dark wizard, Lord Voldermort, in his conquest to rid the world of muggles and muggleborn witches and wizards.

"So, what if they were a little tipsy, they still said it," James protested.

"It doesn't count," Remus said, siding with Sirius on that one.

"I can still get her to like me, I know I can," James stated.

"Really?" Sirius doubtfully asked.

"Yes," James countered.

"Well, if you really think that you can get Lily Evans to date you, then I think we should make a little wager out of it," Sirius replied.

"What kind of a wager?" James asked, he was intrigued.

"Well, if you can get Lily Evans to date you in less than ten days, then you win," Sirius replied.

"Ten days?"

"Yup," Sirius answered.

"I think that's a little unfair," Remus put in.

"Thank you, Moony," James told Remus, Moony being his nickname due to the fact that he was a werewolf.

"Ten days isn't a long time at all, at least not for the start of school. If it were a few months into the year, I'd say that was plenty of time for the bet, but not now," Remus added.

"Okay, fine," Sirius said.

"Okay, so what, you're going to make it a month?" James asked.

"No, I've got a new idea," Sirius answered. "If you can get Lily Evans to date you during the school year, then you win."

"You're giving him the whole school year?" Remus asked, very surprised by this.

"Yes," Sirius replied.

"What's the catch?" James asked, knowing that this would be too good to be true.

"After ten days, she's got to be in love with you," Sirius answered.

"Love him?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, I mean, Prongs, you said it yourself, you can make any woman fall in love with you," Sirius said, recalling their conversation as of two minutes ago.

"What do I win?" James asked.

"Fifty galleons, but only if she's in love with you," he answered.

"James, are you sure you want to do this?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, for starters she could find out about the bet," Remus stated.

"Relax, it'll be fine. And in no time at all, I'll be fifty galleons richer," James replied, and then added, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to meet with the Prefects and the Head Girl for a little bit." All three boys watched as he left the compartment and shut the door tightly behind him.

"Ten galleons says she won't date him at all," Remus said.

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**Author's Note:** Thanks for stumbling onto my story and reading it! I'd love to hear your feedback!


	2. The Plan

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Ally French, Slytherin's Cliffy Queen, julies07, x0x-Mystique-x0x, Chalza, Miss Myrtle360, miss-mags-ak, lizziee, and youkaigirl64 for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

lizziee: I know it is very clichéd, but there's nothing I can do about that. It's very necessary for the plot, as it follows the movie, and in the movie, Ben makes a bet with the girls, that way he won't dump Andy when she's all crazy! Also, thanks for reviewing!

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Lily Evans took a deep breath in as she boarded the train to Hogwarts. She was going back, she was finally going back to the school she knew and loved. And this year, she knew was going to be the very best. Not only was it her final year at the school, but she had also been made Head Girl.

"Lily!" shrieked the familiar voice of one of her very best friends, Kelsey Newman.

"Kelsey!" Lily screamed back. The two girls embraced right there on the train, blocking everyone's way to the compartments.

As they broke apart, Lily surveyed her friend. She looked gorgeous; two months in the States had definitely done her good. She cut her formally long, dark brown hair so that it now reached her shoulders. She had streaks of blonde and light brown put in as well, making her look not only beautiful, but much more grown up. Her hazel eyes were shining with joy at the thought of seeing all her friends again, matching the expression in Lily's.

"Oh wow, how've you been?" Lily asked.

"Great, America was so much fun, I can't wait to tell you all about it!" Kelsey answered.

"Hey, you two going to come in the compartment or what?"

Lily and Kelsey both whipped their heads around to see Samantha Henderson standing at the doorway to one of the compartments. She was leaning her fairly tall figure against the doorframe, and a huge smile was on her face. She too, had a hair change. Instead of her shoulder length, curly blonde hair that was always worn up in a bun or ponytail, she had it down. Not only was it down, but also long, reaching a little more than halfway down her back. Her blue eyes were sparkling, as usual, as she saw her friends.

"Sam!" both Lily and Kelsey yelled as they dropped their luggage in the middle of the aisle and ran over to give their friend a hug.

It was hard to believe that the three girls hadn't seen each other for the past three months, but it was true. Kelsey went to America to visit her father, her parents got divorced last school year and her dad up and left to America, saying he never wanted to see Kelsey's mum again. Kelsey was pretty devastated at first, but she was better now. She spent all holidays with her mum in England, as well as the month of June. Then she went to America for the last two months of their summer vacation to be with her dad.

As for Sam, well, her father traveled more than anyone Lily had ever met before. He was a photographer, and Sam's mother was a stay at home mom. So Sam and her brother and sister were taken from their home every summer to all sorts of exotic places. This year she wrote to Lily from places such as, Egypt, Hong Kong, New York City, Brazil, and New Zealand.

As for Lily, she spent the summer at home. She interned at her father's office for a while, just doing basic things such as organizing files. It was rather boring work, especially since magic wasn't allowed.

Needless to say, all three girls were glad to be at their second homes and with each other again.

Once the girls were settled in the compartment, the gossip began.

"I met the cutest guy while I was in America," Kelsey said. "He was tall, and blonde, and had eyes to die for, and that cute little accent that people in Wisconsin have!"

"Did you guys, you know, do anything?" Lily asked.

"No," Kelsey miserably said. "He had a girlfriend, but I swear, if he didn't, oh wow."

"Sure," Sam said.

"Hey, well did you get any over break?" Kelsey asked.

"Actually, when I was in New Zealand I met this really great guy, and he was single, or at least until he met me" Sam replied with a wink of the eye.

"Oh, shut up," Kelsey sarcastically said.

"Okay, I've actually got to go to the Head's compartment now. Meet the Head Boy and tell all the prefects the rules," Lily told the group.

"Oh yeah, who do you think the Head Boy is?" Kelsey asked.

"No clue, but I'll tell you when I come back," Lily answered.

She then headed out of the room and down the aisle of the train. Once she reached the last door on her right, she stopped, opened it up and stepped inside. It was exactly as she remembered it. She had been in here twice before, for her fifth and sixth year prefect meetings. The seats were all made out of real leather, none of the fake material they got in the rest of the train. It was larger too, it could fit up to twenty people if needed, unlike the rest of the train's rooms which could fit eight kids maximum.

She took a seat and waited there. As usual, she was prompt to getting to her destination. And as a result of that, she was the first to arrive. She waited eagerly to see who the Head Boy was, thinking of all the possibilities.

Maybe it would be Darren Jones from Ravenclaw. He was adorable. He had curly brown hair and the cutest blue eyes. In fact, he looked more like fifteen than seventeen, but still, he was an adorable kid. He was nice too, and very polite. He always referred to adults as "sir" or "miss."

But then again, his childish appearance often didn't hold authority over any of the students at Hogwarts. Lily remembered last year when he tried to tell a fourth year that he was breaking the rules, the kid nearly hexed him so bad he needed to go to the infirmary. No, Dumbledore wouldn't pick him for Head Boy.

As Lily thought about it more and more she knew who the obvious choice was, William Ruggles, from Hufflepuff House. He was strong, dependent, and got fairly decent grades. Not to mention he was quite attractive as well. He had gorgeous blue eyes and short blonde hair. Of course, lily would never date him though, he was off limits to her group of friends. Sam dated him for nearly two months back in their fifth year, and no one dated someone's ex-boyfriend, it was just wrong.

Lily looked up as she heard the door open. She frowned when she saw the too familiar messy black hair of James Potter entered the compartment.

"Potter, this is the Head's Compartment," Lily told him.

"I know," he answered, looking her up and down as he spoke. He couldn't help but think she looked amazing, even more gorgeous than ever before. She had a slight tan from the summer's sun, which she failed to hide up with her short skirt and t-shirt.

"You need to leave," she stated.

"No I don't," he informed her. His hand immediately went to his hair as he spoke, messing it up even more than it already was.

"Potter, only the Head Boy and Girl are allowed in here, and the prefects," Lily informed him.

"I'm well aware of the rules," he told her, trying his hardest to sound mature and cool.

"Then get the bloody hell out of here," she said, practically screaming at him.

"Chill out," he said, once again his hand went to his hair.

"Get out."

"I'm Head Boy," he told her, a cocky grin appearing on his face.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Of all the things she expected to hear, that was far from her list. James Potter was Head Boy, impossible. Dumbledore would never make someone as troublesome as James Potter Head Boy.

"You're shitting me," she said.

"Nope," he replied, smiling sweetly at her.

Just then the rest of the prefects filed into the compartment and Lily and James had to postpone their conversation. Lily acted as though nothing was bothering her, although she still couldn't believe that James Potter of all people was Head Boy.

She hated the fact that she would have to spend time with him, just being in the same school as him was hard enough. But now she would have to deal with his stupid jokes all the time. Her final year at Hogwarts was going to be ruined, all thanks to him.

"Okay, you can all go now," James said to the prefects.

"Okay listen, Potter," Lily said, turning on him once everyone else was gone. "I've worked my ass of to be Head Girl, and you're not going to ruin it for me, do you hear me?"

"What makes you think I'd ruin it?"

"Did you seriously just ask that?"

"Evans, just try to be nice," he said.

"Potter, don't push it," she replied. "The less time we have to spend together, the better."

"Awe, Evans, I'm hurt. I thought you'd want to be best buddies," he jokingly said.

"Shut it, Potter," she snapped. She then got up form her seat and walked over to the door, wanting nothing more than to rid herself of James Potter, at least for a little while.

"Oh, Evans," he said.

"What?" she asked, turning around in the doorway to face him.

"Do you want to go out with me?" he asked, a cocky grin appearing on his face once more.

"I'd rather kiss a hairy man's ass," she answered without even giving any thought to it.

"Right, see you around then," he called after her, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so easy to win this bet after all.

Lily didn't bother to listen to his last comment though, and just stormed off to the compartment she shared with Kelsey and Sam, wanting nothing more than to vent about her current situation.

Once she got to the room she crashed open the door and then slammed it tightly shut behind her. Both Kelsey and Sam jumped a bit from the loud noise and just stared at Lily as she sat down, crossed her legs, and stared out the window.

"So, um, who's Head Boy?" Sam carefully asked.

"Potter," Lily snarled.

"Potter?" Sam and Kelsey said at once.

"Yes, Potter," Lily clarified.

"How?" Sam asked.

"That's what I'd like to know," Lily shouted. "I mean, was Dumbledore on crack when he was assigning the positions?"

"It sounds like it to me," Kelsey said, still in shock that a Marauder would become Head Boy. She expected that was some sort of violation of their group, having a position that needed some responsibility.

"Well, maybe he's changed," Sam offered.

"Potter, change? Yeah right. He's still that arrogant, big-headed prat that he's always been," Lily said.

"Sorry, Lils," Kelsey said.

"He's not changed at all," Lily ranted on, ignoring Kelsey's comment. "We haven't even reached the castle grounds and he's already asked me out!"

"Already? That's got to be some sort of record," Sam stated. Last year James asked Lily out as the new students were being sorted into their houses, and the girls all thought that bad. But now, he'd out shined himself.

"I mean, I really don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to see him outside of classes, and seeing him in class is really more than I care for," Lily vented.

"I know, Lils," Sam told her, giving her a sympathetic look.

"But now, well now I'll have to plan things with him! I'm going to have to sort out things, hold prefect meetings, everything. And I must say, it sucks, it royally sucks."

"Sorry," Kelsey said once more.

"Oh my God, that boy, I swear, he's going to drive to drink or something," Lily said, letting out a long sigh afterward.

"Maybe it won't be that bad," Sam offered.

"That bad? That bad? Are you bloody kidding me? It's going to be a nightmare! This is James Potter we're talking about, the guy that if I could, I would get some sort of restraint against," Lily ranted.

"Yeah, she does have a point," Kelsey pointed out.

"I mean, he's the guy that has probably asked me out three hundred times in the past two years! He's the bloody bastard that thinks he's so cool, when in reality, he's just a heartless jerk. He's the guy that hexes everyone that gets within ten feet of him! He's the guy that hexed Andrew Johnson last year just because he asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him!" Lily said, throwing up her hands once she was finished talking.

"Yeah, and don't forget how he hexed Warner Perkins when he asked you out that one time last year," Kelsey added.

"Thanks, Kelsey, thanks," Lily said.

"Just doing my job," she responded sweetly.

"Oh, guy, what am I going to do?" Lily asked, falling down onto the seat as she said that.

"Date him," Sam simply replied.

Lily bolted upright, and Kelsey whipped her head around to stare at her friend. Then both girls asked, "What?"

"Date him," Sam replied again, a smile appearing on her face.

"Sam, are you mad? I've just told you that he's impossible, annoying, a jerk, and that I can't stand him," Lily reminded her.

"Exactly! So you date him, and then he'll realize just how wrong you guys are for each other," Sam answered.

"You're forgetting one very important thing," Kelsey stated, "He knows Lily, he has for the past six years. I don't think that by dating her, it'll change his mind."

"Yeah," Lily agreed.

"I know that," Sam answered, and then added, "That's why you're not going to be yourself."

"Sam, I don't understand what you're getting at here," Lily told her.

"Okay, listen, Potter likes you Lily, he likes every aspect about you. But what he doesn't like, is well, not you," Sam replied.

"I'm still not getting it," Lily said.

Kelsey lit up at once though, catching on to Sam's plan. "Lily, just do everything that girls know guys hate."

"That'll make him come running from you, not for you," Sam added.

"Be clingy, use baby talk, do everything that guys hate," Kelsey informed.

"But, but that's not me at all."

"But he doesn't know that. He doesn't know how you act with the guys you date," Sam said.

"Yeah, you'll make him realize how wrong he is for you," Kelsey said, "He'll be off your back for the rest of the year."

"Just give it ten days, and he'll wish he was never born," Sam added.

"Ten days, why?" Lily asked.

"A week is too short, two weeks is too long, but ten days, ten days will be just long enough to drive him crazy," Sam replied.

Lily smiled at this plan. She was finally going to be rid of James Potter. He was finally going to be off her shoulders and she would never have to deal with him again. In ten days tops, she would lose James Potter.

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**Author's Note 2:** I hope you all liked the chapter! Please let me know though, I'd love to hear your comments! So, please remember to review!


	3. Tracey & Rina

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to youkaigirl64, blaiselover, Slytherin's Cliffy Queen, lizziee, julies07, evahyoung, Juicilyn, Miss Myrtle360, miss-mags-ak, Prongsie-Jamesie, BabyD4Lyfe, and DanRadLuver01 for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

_Prongsie-Jamesie_ I'm glad you liked the description of the guy! And no, I'm not from Wisconsin, but one of my friends dated a guy that looks similar to the guy described and he was from Wisconsin!

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"You asked her out already?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," James replied as the four boys made their way into the Great Hall for the first day back ceremony.

"You're an idiot, mate," Remus informed him once they made it to the Gryffindor table.

"Thanks, Moony," James sarcastically replied.

"Why does this always take so long?" Sirius asked, holding his stomach while he spoke.

His three friends laughed at his comment. Every year since their second year at Hogwarts, Sirius always spent the entire train ride fantasizing about the food. But once they made it into the Great Hall, he was practically starving. All throughout the sorting of the new first years his stomach would growl and he would tap his feet impatiently. Even when someone was sorted into their house he wasn't nearly as excited as the rest of the students, he was just too hungry for the delicious food that was served every year.

"Hey, look, a new guy," Peter commented while pointing up to where the teachers all sat.

The rest of the Marauders turned their heads in the direction of Peter's finger. Once again, there was a new wizard seated up there, right in between the transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall, and the Charms teachers, Professor Flitwick.

"Who do you think he is?" Sirius asked.

"Well, it's obvious, the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor," Remus replied.

"How do you know that?" Peter asked.

"Well, seeing as Kramer's gone, I'd say this guy's taking his place," Remus answered.

"Damn, seven Defense professors in seven years, that's got to be some sort of a record," James commented.

"Longer than seven years," Sirius corrected, "There were five in five years before we came."

"Wow, the job's got to be jinxed or something," Peter said.

"I wonder what happened to Kramer," Remus thought aloud, ignoring Peter's last comment.

"Murdered," James replied.

"How'd you know that?" Sirius asked.

"My dad told me," James responded, "He said that You-Know-Who found out he was a spy for the ministry, and he killed him. He personally killed him."

"Wow, that's got to suck," Remus said.

"No kidding, he didn't see it coming or anything," James replied, remembering what his father told him. His father, as well as his grandfather and all the other men in the Potter family, were aurors. They fought crime for the ministry, and now, with the Dark Times that were going on, they were working constantly.

It was an awful time to live, murders were happening all the time. They were done by one man named Lord Voldermort and all of his followers, who called themselves Death Eaters. In fact, Voldermort was so feared that no one ever called him his proper name, most people referred to him as You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Death Eaters and Voldermort were on a mission, to kill all muggleborn witches and wizard, as well as anyone who thought that they had the right to attend Hogwarts and fulfill their magical abilities.

They were very scary times. People that James personally knew were getting murdered left and right. His aunt and uncle were both attacked by Death Eaters, and unfortunately neither survived. His grandparents had also been murdered that way, all due to the fact that they wouldn't join Voldermort's side of the war.

"Looks like Slughorn's already latched onto his favorites," Sirius commented, trying to end the sad talk of the world around them.

James turned his attention over to their Potions teacher, Professor Slughorn. He always had a group of favorites, ever since he either learned their names or saw them do something incredible. James and Sirius had both been among the group for their first two years at Hogwarts, until the little incident in his office occurred.

The Marauders were snooping around in his private office one Friday night, wanting to make a potion, one that would turn Snape's hair purple for a week. They needed the ingredients from the office, and snuck down there. Unfortunately, they came across Slughorn who was very disappointed in them. He gave them all detention for a week, which made all of the Marauders mad.

To get their revenge, they snuck into the office and did steal the ingredients. They spent the rest of the night brewing it in their room, and the next morning instead of giving it to Snape, they gave it to Slughorn. His hair was purple and he was furious. Ever since then he hadn't invited James or Sirius to his private meetings.

James smiled when he saw Slughorn approach Lily. She was definitely his favorite student in the entire school. She was brilliant at brewing potions, better than everyone in their grade, well almost. Snape was actually the best at it, but the Marauders would never actually admit that.

Slughorn didn't especially like Snape though, he thought of him as an awkward boy who didn't fit in anywhere. This was not the type of person he wanted in his little circle of friends, so he invited his second best student instead. Of course, it was rally Lily's charm and personality that had all of the teachers goggling over her. She was a fantastic student and always seemed to know the answer. But it wasn't just book smarts that she had; she had pure knowledge on the subject.

James watched as Slughorn gave Lily a firm handshake and talked up a storm. Lily laughed at some points, gave an expression of sympathy at others. All in all, she held a pretty decent conversation with the Professor, and James was actually quite envious.

He wanted to have those types of conversations with Lily, not ones where he was trying to impress her or ask her out. Not the conversations that ended with her basically telling him that she hated him and to get the hell away from her.

"Prongs, you're staring again," Peter whispered across the table.

James snapped back into reality, and just in time too because out of the corner of his eye he saw Lily's gaze fall toward this section of the room.

"Oh, look, McGonagall's finally bringing them out, now we just have to wait for all of them to get sorted," Sirius excitedly said.

"Which you know will take a very long time," Remus reminded him.

"Shut up," Sirius miserably said.

The Marauders all watched as " Ames, Chandler" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and then "Blair, Frank" was sorted into Slytherin, getting a large boo from the other three houses. "Blair, Pansy" was also sorted into Slytherin, the boys guessed it was Frank's twin sister as they also booed at her.

The sorting went on and on for quite some time before "Yoxall, Melinda" was sorted into Gryffindor, winning an applause from nearly everyone because she was the last to be sorted.

Dumbledore then got up from his seat to make his start of the year speech, "Welcome all to another fabulous year at Hogwarts. I'd first like to introduce our newest member of the staff, Professor Haddon," everyone gave a small applause as the new guy stood up and waved. He looked rather young, maybe thirty at the oldest. He had short blonde hair and deep blue eyes. James heard a few girls let out a gasp as they noticed his good looks.

"As a reminder, the forest is strictly forbidden to all students," his eyes seemed to twinkle as his gaze fell directly onto the Marauders. "And now, I don't believe there's anything else to say, so let's dig in!"

As the words left his lips heaps of food appeared directly in front of them, roast chicken, roast pig, mashed potatoes, veggies, and much, much more. It was a feast to die for.

---

"Okay, as great as that food was, I'm so looking forward to crashing in bed right now," Sam said as the three girls made their way up to their dorm room. They were some on the last ones to leave the common room because of Lily's duties as Head Girl, making sure that everyone knew where to go.

Kelsey and Sam had agreed to stay behind and wait for Lily, not thinking that it would take as much time as it did. But unfortunately many new students weren't paying attention and needed to be retold the password several times before actually getting it right.

"I know what you mean," Lily said as they climbed the many stairs leading to their room.

Once they got to their destination, they found that their two other roommates were already there and settling in.

"Hey guys," Lily brightly said to Tracey Osborne and Rina Spears.

"Hey," Tracey replied, Rina only smiled.

Although the five girls had known each other and been together for the past six years, Lily got the feeling that only Tracey actually liked her. Tracey was a nice girl, a very nice girl who was also of muggleborn heritage. She had long, curly brown hair. The curls weren't too tight though, just loose and adorable. She had chocolate brown eyes that matched her hair perfectly, not a drop of difference in the colors.

Rina, on the other hand, was not so nice to Lily, Kelsey, and Sam. Not that she was truly mean to them, but she was never quite as open with them, or really bothered to become their friend, unlike her best friend. Rina had blonde, shoulder length hair, nothing too special about it, but Lily did admit that with her large brown eyes she did have a very nice appearance.

"Is James Potter still after you?" Tracey asked Lily.

"Yup, he beat his own record this year though. Asked me out on the train instead of in the Great Hall," Lily responded.

"He won't give you a break at all," Tracey commented.

"Yeah, but Lily's going to go out with him next time he asks her out," Kelsey blurted out.

"What?" Rina snapped.

Lily turned bright red, she didn't quite want to announce her plant to the world, but knew that Kelsey couldn't keep her mouth shut for very long. Lily trusted that she wouldn't actually tell James or any of the Marauders about it, but knew that she'd tell all their friends.

"Um yeah," she answered.

"I thought you hated him," Rina said.

"She does," Kelsey replied with a large grin on her face.

"Then why are you going to date him?" Tracey asked.

"Just tell them, they're bound to find out," Sam told Lily.

"Okay, but you can't tell anyone," Lily sternly told them.

Both girls listened intently as Lily confessed her plans to them. Needless to say, they were both shocked to find out that Lily Evans, the nicest, most perfect girl in school was doing something this deceiving. But they were also very proud of her, not every girl could keep up with that.

"Okay, so remember, don't tell anyone," Lily sternly told them.

"We won't," Tracey promised.

"Yeah, we wouldn't tell a soul," Rina answered, and then said, "Tracey, I think I left something downstairs, will you help me find it?"

"What'd you leave?" Tracey asked.

"Um, my, my purse," Rina replied.

"Alright," Tracey said as the two girls made their way down the stairs and towards the common room.

Once they reached it though, Rina said, "This is great! Do you realize what this means?"

"What?" Tracey asked, grasping that there was no purse that needed to be found.

"Once James sees how awful Lily is, at least pretending to be anyways, he'll stop liking her," she replied, "Meaning that he'll look for someone else to like."

"As in you," Tracey said, now fully understanding just how great this plan would be for her friend.

"Exactly," Rina replied, she smiled deeply. She had never been this thrilled in her entire life. James Potter was going to hate Lily soon enough, and once he got over her, Rina would be sure to snag him.

**

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**

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked chapter three! I know that not much really happened in it, but it's important for later chapters, to please bear with me! And please review and tell me what you think!


	4. Hooked

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to evahyoung, holyheartbreak, x0x-Mystique-x0x, DanRadLuver01, blvd, julies07, Prongsie-Jamesie, redbird-flying-away, Percephone, Miss Myrtle360, lizziee, Juicilyn, ellieo, miss-mags-ak, and siriusforeva for reviewing! You guys are great!

_x0x-Mystique-x0x:_ You know, I think you're the first person to ask me where I get my inspiration. And I can honestly say, I've got no clue! Well, for this story when I first came up with the idea to write it, I just finished watching the movie for like the tenth time. But the other stories, I really don't know. They just sort of come to me at the most random times, or when I'm staring at a blank screen and am just writing because I know my reviewers will get pissed if I don't update (example, how this chapter was written!) Not really very helpful, am I? But oh well, anyways, it makes me so happy that you reviewed!

_Prongsie-Jamesie:_ No, sorry, I can't have anyone hex the shit out of Rina, she's still needed! Oh, and I'm from New England,sortof close toBoston.

* * *

"I just don't get it," Lily sighed as she plopped down onto her bed. It had been nearly two weeks since James had last asked her out. 

Usually she would have been thankful for this, but now she was just anxious to get the plan in action. Now, all she wanted to do was date James Potter. She wanted more than ever to show him up, make him wish he had never laid eyes on her. But now, he wasn't giving her the opportunity to do so! Life could be so frustrating.

"Don't worry about," Kelsey replied as she flipped through a magazine.

All three girls were sitting up in their dormitory, doing a familiar act, complaining about James Potter. Sam was sitting on her bed, skimming over the reading for her Ancient Ruins class. Lily was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. And Kelsey was completely ignoring her piles of homework and reading the latest issue of _Witch Weekly_.

"Do you think he even still likes me?" Lily asked.

"Well, it would certainly be a lot easier of he didn't," Kelsey commented.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, he'd just be off your back and you wouldn't have to go on with the plan," she answered.

Lily thought about it for a second. That would make her life easier, but not nearly as fun as messing with James Potter. She secretly hoped that Kelsey was completely off target, but said, "Yeah, you're right."

Sam looked up from her work, "You've got to be shitting me. James Potter, not like Lily. Impossible."

"Why do you say that?" Kelsey asked.

"Have you seen the way he looks at her?" Sam said.

"How does he look at me?" Lily asked.

Sam chuckled a bit before resting her chin on her hand, her eyes staring right at Lily. She had an expression that said, "Wow, I wish I could be with that person," on her face.

"He does not," Lily said with a laugh as she tossed her pillow at Sam, forcing her to abandon her impression.

"Yes he does!" Sam insisted as she threw the pillow back at Lily.

"What's going on?" Rina asked as she opened the door, dodging another flying pillow.

All three girls laughed and then Sam responded, "Oh, nothing much, just hanging out. You?"

"Tracey and Sirius Black are making me sick, I had to get away," she truthfully answered. Tracey and Sirius had started dating three days ago, and Lily couldn't agree more with Rina's statement. It was sickening watching the two of them. She never saw two people make out in public more than them.

"Yuck," Kelsey said, shrugging her nose at the thought.

"Well, we were actually listening to Lily complain about Potter not asking her out yet, so it's not much better in here," Sam said, although she sent a look to Lily showing her that she was only kidding.

"Really? He still hasn't asked you out," Rina said. "Interesting, very interesting."

"We're hoping that he's over her, but Sam said he wasn't," Kelsey added, getting Rina up to date on their conversation.

"You could always ask him out," Rina suggested.

Lily hadn't thought about that before. She could ask him out. She could certainly ask him out. Of course, it wasn't very common that girls did the asking, but she could be different. Besides, she really was going ballistic at the fact that she hadn't started the plan yet.

"You think so?" Lily asked.

"Of course," Rina answered, a small grin appearing on her lips. The sooner James Potter was driven away by Lily, the sooner he would come crawling to her. In no time at all, she and James would finally be together. After years of liking him, she would finally get her wish.

---

Lily quietly walked down the long flight of stairs from her room to the common room early the next morning. She did that every day. Her friends thought she was crazy for waking up before anyone else, but Lily enjoyed getting up bright and early.

She loved walking down to the Great Hall and getting an early breakfast, before too many students arrived. She would often bring a quill and a piece of parchment and write a letter to her parents. Other days she would read the _Daily Prophet, _not missing a single article. She liked to be updated on the current news, she had since she was a little girl.

Today though, was different. Instead of finding the common room completely empty, she saw James Potter seated on one of the plush chairs. He faced her, but didn't see or hear her come down the stairs; he was too concentrated on the work in front of him. He was scribbling away like a madman, his books propped open in front of him.

She cocked her head to the side as she watched him work. At a glance, people would probably say she was studying him, for research or something. And to be completely honest, she sort of was.

She watched as his hand scribbled from one end of the paper to the other and was surprised to see that he was left handed, a fact that she never would have guessed before, even though she too was a lefty. She also noticed that he rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows and his tie was done very sloppily. His school robes were slung over the chair, as if he didn't bother to even mess with them quite yet.

Lily bit her lower lip, a habit that she had whenever she was nervous. Although, she wasn't quite sure why she was nervous. This was James Potter; she could certainly handle asking him out, or at least engage him in conversation.

Just what should she say? She didn't have a clue. What do you say to a guy when you're trying to ask him out, especially when you don't have feelings for him? Lily mentally slapped herself, how could she be so unprepared. This just wasn't like her at all. In these types of situations, she would clearly have several scenarios marked out in her mind, no surprises to jump out at her.

But did she have any planned now? Of course not, not when she really needed it. Usually, if he were to ask her out, she'd have tons of comments stored in her brain to use, always prepared. But when it came to asking him out, she didn't have anything to say. She didn't even have a good conversation starter.

Lily didn't need one though, because just then James looked up. He jumped a bit when he saw her standing there. His hand immediately went to his hair, messing it up, making it look even more mangled than it already was.

"Evans," he calmly said. Although inside he was a complete mess. Did he look cool? How long had she been there? Was she going to talk to him? Should he ask her out?

"Um, good morning, Potter," she said.

James stared at her in awe. She wasn't mean to him. It was a bloody miracle! He wanted to do a little victory dance, but restrained himself. "What're you doing up so early?"

"Oh, I'm up early every morning," she answered.

James felt his heart skip a beat. She still wasn't being mean to him. She still hadn't stomped off in the other direction, forcing him to admire her from afar. "Why's that?"

"I don't know, I just like it," she answered, and then did something very foreign. She smiled at him. And it wasn't a fake smile either, it was an actual teeth showing smile.

James felt like he died and went to heaven. He was finally on the receiving end of a Lily Evans smile. Never in his life had she actually smiled at him before. Actually, never in his life had she not frowned at the sight of him.

"What are you doing up?" she then asked.

Okay, now this was just weird. Lily Evans had not only been nice to him, but she was actually making good conversation, asking him questions. "Oh, um, I forgot about that Transfiguration paper until late last night and decided I'd rather do it in the morning."

"Well, you're pretty good at it, and McGonagall likes you, so you should be okay," she told him.

Did he hear her correctly? Did she actually say something that resembled a compliment? James was in awe. He was having a fairly decent conversation with Lily Evans. It was amazing.

Footsteps could be heard coming from the girl's dormitories, and both Lily and James turned their heads toward the noise. An instant later a sixth year girl with black hair tied back into a ponytail came down the stairs, a gigantic smile on her face.

"Lily, you're still here," she commented. She then noticed that James was sitting there too and she turned a little pink. She had such a huge crush on all the Marauders.

"Good morning, Carla," Lily said to the girl.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she nervously asked.

"Oh, no," Lily automatically answered.

Carla let out a sigh of relief and then said, "Are you ready to go down to the Great Hall then?" It was a tradition of theirs to always eat an early breakfast with each other every morning, one that started back in Lily's third year. Of course, Lily was always down their first, but usually only for fifteen minutes before Carla came and joined her.

"Um, yeah," Lily replied after turning to glance at James again. She started to walk toward the Portrait Hole, but then turned around and said to James, "Potter, um, do you want to get together tonight, and you know, talk about Head stuff?"

He was amazed that she was offering to actually spend even more time with him, which he wanted more than anything, even if it were just to talk about Head stuff. "Um, yeah, how about seven o'clock in the Head's Meeting Room."

"Sounds good to me," she answered and then at a second thought said, "See you later, Potter."

"Bye," he called out, hoping that his voice still sounded okay and wasn't shaky. The thought of spending time with Lily mixed with the actual realism of their conversation made him feel giddy inside. Maybe this was finally going to be the year that he dated Lily Evans after all.

---

Lily glanced up at the clock on the wall, it was ten after seven, and James hadn't shown up yet. She crossed her arms and sat back against the plush chair.

She rolled her eyes; thinking that she should had expected this. She should have known that James wouldn't be on time. He never was. Typical James Potter, too good to be anywhere when he was supposed to.

This would just add to her list of reasons why she hated James Potter. He was late, he was obnoxious, he was mean, he thought he was all that and so much more, and he was probably the most arrogant person she had ever met. God, she hated him. Actually, despised was probably a better word for it. Yes, she despised him. She despised everything about it, from way he talked to the way he messed up his hair all the time.

Actually, she was beginning to question why she was even here in the first place. Of course, making James Potter's life miserable would cheer her up and bring a smile to her face through graduation, but at the same time, did she really want to put herself through such a distress? After all, she was going to have to deal with him just as much as he was going to have to deal with her.

Lily heard a sharp clicking noise from the door and looked over to see the guy she detested walk in. He had a large goofy grin on his face, not to mention he looked like a complete wreck. His robes were dirty, he had a broomstick in his hand, and his hands were quite filthy.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, sending her his cockiest grin.

Yes, she decided. She was definitely going to do this. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face. She wanted nothing more than to make him beg her to leave him alone. Yes, this was going to be fun. Lots of fun.

"It's okay," she answered, sending him her most charming smile.

"I was playing Quidditch with the new Gryffindor team," he informed her.

"Interesting," she said, although she really could have cared less.

"Anyways, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Lily's heart was pounding; she knew she had to do this. She knew she had to ask him out now, or else she'd never do it. She discreetly took a deep breath in and out to calm her nerves.

"Was it something about Head stuff?" he asked, not waiting for her response from his previous question.

"Actually, no," she bravely said.

He stared at her, unsure of how to react to that. It wasn't about Head stuff? What could it be about? What did Lily Evans want to talk about with him, the one person that she hated more than anyone?

"What is it about?" he asked, trying his best to sound cool and relaxed. He certainly did act well too, he was slung back in a luxurious chair that stood opposite of Lily's. He looked very comfortable there, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"I, I wanted to talk about you," she said, and then as a second thought added, "And me…I wanted to talk about you and me."

Now he was really intrigued. He sat up straight, not wanting to miss a word that left Lily's lips. "Go on," he urged.

She took another deep breath in, filling her lungs with fresh air. "Potter," she began, "Well, you see, the thing is, um, you know on the train when we had that little encounter?"

"Yeah," he said, remembering it clearly. He asked her out, she shot him down.

"Well, I was, I was giving it a second thought," she slowly said, trying to brace herself for what was coming next.

"How so?" he asked.

Lily wanted to scream at him, she wanted to smack him across the face, she wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Just the tone of his voice made her want to hit him. He knew exactly what she was referring to. He wasn't an idiot, and although Lily pretended he was, she knew he wasn't. She decided then that there was yet another trait of his that she was adding to her list. He was smug. She hated that about him. She hated that the way he talked, moved, and looked at people. He was always smug, just as he was right now.

"I think you know," she answered. She let herself slip up a little, adding a bit of darkness to her tone to replace the very cheery attitude that had just been present.

"You could remind me," he smugly remarked.

If she wasn't trying to ask him out right now, she'd probably smack him across the face and then storm off. But unfortunately that didn't leave a good impression, which was the one thing she needed right now.

"I'd, I, I think that maybe I underestimated you," she told him, "And, well, and I think we'd make a very, a very nice couple." She wanted to kill herself as those words were leaving her lips.

James knew his heart skipped at least ten beats as he listened to her talk. Lily Evans just said that she though they'd make a good couple. Lily Evans! Lily Evans, the girl of his dreams, just came on to him. She was basically saying that they should date.

He knew that a large smile was on his face, for an instant replacing that cocky grin he always used when he was with Lily, the one he always used when he was trying to impress her.

He regained himself though, and putting his deep voice and cocky grin on, he said, "Are you asking me out?" His eyes were dancing with life, although listening to him speak, you'd never know it.

"Yes," she said, shutting her eyes as she spoke, as if she were trying to make it go away, like a bad dream.

"Really?" he asked, his excitement over passing his cool guy act for a second time.

"Yes," she answered, regretting every moment of this conversation.

"Well, okay then," he said, putting the act back on.

"Yeah, well, I've got to go back to my room now, but I'll see you tomorrow," she told him, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.

"I'll walk you," he offered, thinking of what boyfriends should do.

"Okay," she replied, although inside she wanted to crawl into a deep hole and escape from him. Or better yet, she wanted him to disappear and never come back. Yes, that would make her life complete.

The entire walk back was in complete silence. Surprisingly though, it wasn't awkward at all. The only reason for that though, was because both Lily and James were concentrating deeply on their thoughts.

Lily kept on thinking what a mistake this was. She couldn't get out of her mind that something bad was going to come from this. Or, in the long run, she'd go crazier than him in the next ten days.

James, on the other hand, was thrilled. He finally got the girl of his dreams; he was finally Lily Evans's boyfriend. Lily Evans was finally his girlfriend. They were finally a couple, finally dating. He was ecstatic. If Lily hadn't been there, he'd probably be doing victory laps across the castle, announcing to the world of his great success.

He was so excited that the bet he made with Sirius hadn't surfaced his mind once. It never occurred to him that he could win money now.

---

In no time at all, they were back in Gryffindor common room, which at the time, was very crowded. And James loved it, He loved that everyone was seeing him and Lily come back threw the portrait together. Lily, on the other hand, didn't fancy it at all. She would have preferred no one seeing her within twenty feet of James Potter, let alone come threw the same portrait hole.

"Well, I've got to get upstairs," she said, her heart and head racing from today's events.

"Yeah," he said as he watched her climb the first step of the staircase.

"Night, Potter," she called over her shoulder.

"Wait," he told her and watched as she turned around to face him. "Do you think that you could call me James now?"

"Um, yeah, goodnight, James," she said, although it felt awkward leaving her mouth. She never called him James; it was just a foreign concept.

"Goodnight, Lily," he replied, smiling deeply as she ascended the stairs.

She had a look of disgust on her face. Just the sound of her name coming from his voice made her sick. It just didn't feel right. She was always "Evans," when it came to James Potter. She wasn't ever "Lily" or "Lily Evans," she was always, "Evans." Even when he was trying to ask her out and flatter her, he called her by her surname. This wasn't good, she knew it. She knew this was going to turn into a disaster; it wasn't going to be anything like she imagined it to be.

"So?" Sam asked once Lily opened the door. Both she and Kelsey were up in the room, working on their homework and complaining about it as well.

"He's hooked."

**

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**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed chapter four! Now for the fun to start! Anyways, please let me know what you thought of the story, I'd love to hear your feedback in a review!


	5. Day One: Potions Assignments

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to Georgie Gryffindor, DanRadLuver01, lizziee, siriusforeva, SilenceIsLoud, julies07, -lily-potter-wannabe-, Juicilyn, x LiL jEsSi x, Miss Myrtle360, Amanda, x0x-Mystique-x0x, laurahonest, Ce, ellieo, beachbabe12, Solo-gurl, oct24rose, holyheartbreak, Smiles, famousindafuture, and annluthien for reviewing!

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"James, its seven o'clock in the morning, why on earth are you so bloody happy?" Remus asked, groaning as he re-tied his tie for the third time that morning.

"I still can't believe she asked me out last night," he answered, a large grin appearing on his face.

"Get over it already," Sirius complained, "I really don't want to hear you go on and on about her again."

"Yeah, I think I'm all worn out from hearing the story five times last night," Peter added, emphasizing the "five."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you guys realize just how incredible this is. I mean, Lily Evans, the girl that I've wanted for the past two years, the only girl that ever said no to me, finally realizes that she likes me. And not only are we dating now, but she's the one that asked me out," James said, revisiting last night in his mind.

"And I'm sure the fact that if you manage to get her to fall in love with you in ten days time then you win the bet and Sirius pays you fifty galleons, aids in why your so happy," Peter said, reminding everyone of the bet that was made on the train ride into Hogwarts.

"That's right, I forgot about that," James remarked, suddenly feeling uneasy about the bet. Yes, somehow he did manage to get Lily to like him, but love him was a different story. How was he supposed to get her to fall in love with him? Better yet, why on earth did he agree to that bet?

To make someone fall in love in ten days was impossible, right? Love takes time. Love takes getting to know someone and truly caring about them. Love can't be rushed into ten days.

Then again, Lily did suddenly show interest in him, even though he thought that she detested him. Maybe he could pull this off, maybe he could get Lily to fall in love with him in ten days time. After all, she must feel some sort of emotion toward him; otherwise she wouldn't have asked him out in the first place. Right?

"That's right, our wager is officially on the line as of eleven hours ago," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Yup," James said, giving the impression that he was going to win the bet, hands down.

"There's no bloody way she'll be in love with you in ten days, mate," Sirius told his best friend.

"She will be."

"What makes you think that? Other than yesterday, you haven't had a decent conversation with her, since, well, ever. And from you said, both of yesterday's conversations were extremely short," he remarked.

"But she started both conversations, not me."

"So?"

"So, that obviously means she's trying to be with me and likes me. Now, all I have to do is spend some time with her, show her the Potter charm, and she'll be head over heels in love," James said, sounding just as cocky as he felt.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Remus asked James, a questionable look on his face.

"What's that?"

"She's already resisted the Potter charm, for the past two years she's been resisting it," Remus answered.

---

"Is it a problem that I've only been dating the guy for eleven hours and already want out of the relationship?" Lily asked Kelsey and Sam as the three girls sat in the Great Hall eating breakfast.

"Lils, haven't you wanted out of the relationship before either of you were in it?" Sam joked.

"Good point," Lily said, choking up a small giggle with her response.

"So, what's the Losing James Day 1 idea?" Kelsey asked.

Lily and Sam both stared at her before they simultaneously asked, "The what?"

"The Losing James Day 1 idea," she repeated. She then looked across the table at both of them and explained, "If you're going to lose James Potter in less than ten days, you need a plan. You need to drive him away, so what are you going to do today to drive him away?"

"Oh, just the typical annoying girlfriend bit, you know, being cuddly and obnoxious," she answered.

"That's it? That's all you've come up with?" Kelsey asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Lils, come on, any girl could be like that. You need something better; you need something that will really drive him away," Kelsey responded.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but those things won't work. Those things take weeks to get rid of a guy, not less than ten days."

"Well, I'm not sure what to do, I mean, we've got classes all day long, so it's not like I'm even going to see him very often," Lily informed her friend.

"Okay, you've got a point, but come on, we've got to think of something," Kelsey stated.

"Guys, shut it, the Marauders just walked in," Sam urgently said. With her words, all three girls stopped talking at once. They couldn't let any of the Marauders hear their plan. It would ruin everything.

Lily looked over at the Marauders and spotted James at once. Despite his attitude and unfortunate personality, Lily couldn't help but admit that he was fairly attractive, the only plus side of dating him. His robe hung loosely around his frame, since it wasn't tied shut, she could see his shirt and tie underneath it. She noticed that today, unlike yesterday, he looked very sharp. Nothing about him was out of place, well except his hair, but there was no way he'd ever be able to tame that.

To her surprise, he looked straight at her and the held her eye for a moment. Fighting her natural urge to glare at him, she did something almost foreign. She smiled at him. It wasn't an overbearing smile, but a simple smile, a simple smile that showed her interest him, or at least, her pretend interest him. He smiled back at her, making Lily's cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

Lily then turned away from him and back toward her friends. She could do this. Yes, she could definitely do this. She could easily date James Potter for a week. After all, that little exchange between the two of them wasn't so bad, it was actually pretty easy. She could be nice to James Potter; she could pretend to date him with ease.

She felt her stomach lurch a bit and felt her smile fade into a frown. What was she thinking? She couldn't do this. What happened just then, that was from all the way across the Great Hall. What just happened, required no talking. What just happened, was obviously easy. But could she actually talk to James without exploding and yelling at him? Could she pull this off?

---

"Now class, today we are going to do something a little out of the ordinary," Professor Slughorn announced. "Instead of working in the classroom, I've got an assignment outside of the classroom that I want you to do."

Every student in the class looked around, unsure of if this was a good or a bad thing. On the bright side of things, they wouldn't have to be stuck in the class room, especially on this beautiful late September day. On the other side though, what was he going to make them do?

"Today, we're going to use our knowledge outside of class and I want you all to prepare the assignment on your own. The actually doing of the experiment, however, will be done in class tomorrow," Slughorn began, "I want you all the research the potion for curing burns. Now, there are hundreds out there, so it's up to you to find out the best one. It needs to be powerful, yet cannot exceed the brewing time our class. In other words, if you're not finished brewing by the end of class tomorrow, you will not get a decent grade on this assignment. And, you may not start the brewing of the potion before eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

The entire class looked blankly at their professor. Was he serious? Were they really supposed to spend hours in the library researching an assignment?

"Also, just to let you know, after you do the experiment for tomorrow, your next homework assignment will be to write a two page paper on this, so take good notes will doing your research," Slughorn informed them.

With that said, the entire class let out a groan. Seventh year potions this year was not going to be fun. This year already, they had four different paper assignments due, not to mention ridiculously difficult potions to brew.

"Cheer up," Slughorn told them, a smile spreading over his face. "I do have some good news; you can work in partners for this one."

Lily and Kelsey, who had been sharing a table, glanced at each other. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Partners of my choosing that it," Slughorn added.

Another class-wide groan sounded from the mixture of Slytherins and Gryffindors. Slughorn only chuckled at the response from his students before reading off a list of names, all randomly chosen with the flick of a wand.

As he read of names, Lily looked anxiously around the room. Kelsey and Sam had both already been paired, which took her two best friends away from her. Tracey, who Lily had gotten to know fairly well over the last few years and grew to like, was paired with Snape, and Lily shot her a look of sympathy from across the room.

"Miss Evans and Mister Potter," Slughorn read aloud.

Lily felt her entire body stiffen. Did she hear him correctly? Was she working with James Potter on this assignment? Was she going to have to spend quality time with him?

She glanced over at James. He was sitting with Sirius today and was whispering something to him. His back was facing Lily, which she was grateful for. Maybe this meant that she had heard Slughorn wrong.

To her luck, James suddenly repositioned himself in the chair and caught her eye once again. He sent a smile her way. He then turned back toward his desk and took out a piece of parchment and a quill and scribbled a message onto it. An instant later, he tapped his wand to the note and it disappeared. Lily looked down at her own desk and noticed that it reappeared before her very eyes. Hesitantly, she opened it up and looked down at what he wrote:

_Lily,_

_What do you say we blow off this assignment for a couple hours and head back to the common room? And before you protest about getting our work done, everybody will be in the library now, which means that everyone will be fighting over the potions books. So, we'd really just be wasting our time by waiting for everyone to finish up with them. _

_-James _

Lily sighed, but realized that he did have a legitimate point. Going to the library now would be as like jumping off of a twenty story building and landing gracefully on the sidewalk: impossible.

She took out a piece of her parchment and wrote:

_James, _

_Sounds fine. I'll meet you in the common room. _

_-Lily _

As she sent the letter on its way, she let out a small sigh. How was she going to do this? How was she going to stand being with James Potter for an extended amount of time? How was she going to repel him? How was she going to act toward him?

She didn't have a clue as to how to answer her own questions, something that she didn't like at all. She liked to know everything that was going to happen at all times. She hated surprises, hating not being in control of her every move, and hated the fact that now was a time that she couldn't control things because she didn't know the answers.

Snapping Lily out of her own thoughts, she heard the voice of Slughorn say, "Alright then that's everyone… Get working, you're dismissed for the day."

With that said, everyone piled out of the classroom. Lily's peers all went to their respected partners, trying to decipher a good time to meet about the project. Lily looked around and noticed that both Kelsey and Sam were gone, probably already off to the library to work. To her surprise, she saw James coming toward her, a smile on his face.

"Morning Lily," he said.

"Good morning," she replied, and then asked, "So, you want to head up to the common room?"

"Actually, I was just thinking about it, and the Great Hall still has food out, so, if you're still hungry we could go there."

"Sure," she replied. She wasn't hungry, not the slightest bit. However, the Great Hall was sure to have some kids in it. Anyone with a morning sleep in would be there now, whereas the common room had more of a chance of being empty.

---

Lily looked at him in disbelief, wondering how anyone could devour that much food in so little time. In less than ten minutes, James had eaten three large pancakes and was now half way through his fourth. She, herself, opted for her second cup of coffee of the day. And she knew she was going to need it too. Only caffeine would cure her predicted headache from being with James.

"Are you not hungry?" he asked, looking up and seeing the unpleasant look upon her face.

"No, I already ate," she responded, forcing a smile.

"So, Lily, what's new in life?" he asked her as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Not too much," she answered. It was one of those awkward, not sure what to say responses. "You?"

"Same," he answered, fulfilling the rest of the awkward conversation.

They sat in silence for a moment, each drinking their juice and coffee. After a couple minutes, James finally stared at her and asked, "Why did you say yes?"

"Yes to what?"

"Yes to me asking you out," he answered.

"I asked you, remember," she stated.

"Well, yes, but what changed your mind? I mean, one day you hate me, the next you ask me out," he said, briefly summarizing the facts.

She felt a pain in her stomach as she replied, "I don't know."

He studied her for a moment before saying, "You're lying."

"Excuse me?" she asked, giving him a doubtful look.

"I said, you're lying."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are," he stated before taking another gulp of his orange juice.

"No, I'm not," she repeated, feeling her cheeks burn as she spoke.

"Yes, you are," he said once more. He took a final sip of his drink before smiling at her and standing up to leave.

She got to her feet as well, and protesting once more, she said, "I'm not lying."

He sighed before turning to face her and saying, "You looked down as you spoke."

"So?" she asked, impatiently walking with him back to the common room.

"When people lie, they look down."

"That's stupid," she remarked.

"It's true. That's one of the things they teach you at auror school, how to lie without it being so obvious," James informed her.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"My dad told me," he answered.

"Is he an auror?"

"Yeah," James answered.

"Do you want to be one too?"

"I don't know," he answered. "It's dangerous, especially nowadays."

"When have you been known not to do something dangerous?" she asked in a joking voice.

They reached the portrait hole and he muttered the password before saying, "There's a difference between risking my life and pulling a stupid prank."

She stared at him for a moment before they both turned and went inside the common room. Needless to say, Lily was shocked by his words. This was not the answer she had expected from him. She had expected him to say something dumb, like, "Danger's my middle name." That was something very dumb, guy like. What James had said, however, seemed honest and sincere.

James plopped down onto a warm, plush chair by the fireplace and smiled at Lily as she sat across from him. He decided that he could genuinely get used to the view of Lily across from him, it was nice, very nice.

"So, so you're father is an auror, what's your mother do?" she asked, trying to make some conversation.

"She works at a dress shop in Diagon Alley," he answered and then added, "It's not really much, just something to keep her busy. She told me that when I was young and at home, I kept her busy all day long, but now that I'm here, she gets bored and can't stand to be at home all day long alone."

"That's a reasonable idea," Lily replied, and then let out a small smile. It wasn't directed toward James, it was more of time filling smile. A smile that comes when the conversation starts to die down.

"What about your folks?" James asked.

"My dad's a muggle police man, and my mum is a preschool teacher," Lily answered.

"What are those?" James asked.

"Their jobs."

"Well, yes I figured that. But Lils, a police man and a preschool teacher mean nothing to me. I don't know a lot about muggle terms," he earnestly answered.

"Well, for muggles, there is school starting at age four. When you're four years old, you go to preschool, and it's really more for developing social skills than anything else. In preschool, there are naps and you color and do arts and crafts," Lily answered.

"And a police man?"

"It's sort of like an auror. If someone is murdered or if something is stolen, the police will investigate it and get the bad guys," she replied.

"How do they do that?" James asked.

Lily looked at him as if he were from another planet, "what do you mean?"

"How do they get the bad guys, as you so greatly put it," he replied. Seeing the expression on her face, he added, "You know, without magic."

"Oh, well, I don't know," she said, "they just do…My mum doesn't like to hear about my father's work, so I don't really know all the inside details of it."

"Why doesn't she like to hear about it?"

"He was shot in the leg when I was six, and I don't remember it, but mum said that the doctor's were sure if he would live, it was that bad. Since then, my mum hasn't liked his profession very much, she even asked him to quit his job, but he's too stubborn to do that," Lily told him. She went on to inform James of her parents relationship together as a whole, telling him secrets that even her best friends didn't know about.

"I know that they're not happy together, I can see it every time I'm home. They argue and bicker about everything. My mum says that my dad's a lazy slob and then he complains that all she does is nag him about stupid things," she said. "I'm scared about them…I know that they don't want to be together any longer, but they won't separate because of my sister and me, not to mention it would be scandalous, and if there's one thing that they can agree on, it's that they don't want people talking bad things about them."

James intently listened as Lily spilled her heart to him. Not once did he look away from her eyes or let his mind wander, which was one of the reasons why Lily found it so easy to confide in him, a quality that she later learned to adore about him.

Lily caught her breath for a moment and realized exactly what she was doing. She was telling James Potter her family's problems. She mentally slapped herself, why was she doing this? Why did she find it necessary to tell James information that not even Sam and Kelsey knew about?

She looked him square in the eye before turning a deep shade of red and refocusing her attention on her hands, which were folded in her lap. "I'm sorry, I was rambling on and on about stuff that I know you really don't want to listen to."

"No, its fine," he answered, and then jokingly added "It's nice to know that I'm not the only one with a dysfunctional family."

She smiled, but her blush didn't fade.

"My mother, well, she is one of a kind," he said with a smile.

"How so?"

"Well, I told you that she didn't start working at that shop down in Diagon Alley until I left for school, well, although that is completely true, there's more to it. You see, my mum is probably the most neurotic woman I've ever met," he told her, flashing her his infamous smile.

She smiled back at him and repositioned herself in the chair so that she wasn't slumped back anymore, but rather leaning forward and anticipating what he would say next.

"Until I was nine, she wouldn't let me play Quidditch."

"It can be dangerous."

"In the backyard with my dad," he added.

"That's not too bad."

"She wouldn't let me go anywhere without her being there as well, she didn't trust any other adult with me other than herself. We've got a small stream that passes through our yard, and she wouldn't let me play near it."

"You could've fallen in."

"It was only two feet deep."

"Ouch, that's brutal," Lily said.

"Tell me about it," he replied with a smile.

"I still think I beat you when it comes to messed up families," she sweetly told him.

"She put up a muggle alarm system around the house."

"I haven't even started to tell you about Petunia."

"Who's Petunia?"

"My sister."

"Older or younger?"

"Older, by two years."

"Okay, shoot, but I'm positive that my mum is stranger than anyone else in the world," he stated.

"First of all, Petunia hates anything that has to do with magic, including me. When I came home for Christmas when we were in first year, I showed her a chocolate frog and she screamed bloody murder, ran up to the bathroom and locked herself in there for three hours. She wouldn't come out until my mum promised her that I was up in my room and all the magic stuff was up there with me. After that, she wouldn't come near for nearly four days…In third year, I told her I'd learned a really cool spell that turns someone pink for the day and she was so paranoid that she spent four days at her best friends' house," Lily told him.

"Okay, that's a bit sad," James confessed.

"Oh, it gets better," she replied with a smile. "Not only is she deathly afraid of magic, but she's also just really weird in general. She spies on the neighbors all the time, she even bought a small telescope so that she can see what they're up to. She won't admit it though; she claims that she wouldn't spy on anyone in a million years. Personally, I think that she's checking to make sure that they aren't secretly witches too."

"That is weird; I'll give you that, but come on, my mother. I mean, I'm already afraid for whoever my future wife may be. Having my mother as a mother-in-law, it scares me just thinking about it," he told her.

From there on they continued swapping stories about their families and their own lives away from Hogwarts. In the end, Lily agreed that James's family was much more dysfunctional than her own, but only because James informed her that his mother once took him to the emergency room because she thought he might have swallowed a bug.

To both of their surprises, they each found it very easy to talk with each other. Lily felt that she could have told James anything, as if her were her oldest friend rather than her boyfriend of less than one day. For James, this conversation was everything and more than what he had pictured in his mind over and over again fro the past two years. She went up and beyond his wildest dreams of her; she was more than he ever imagined her to be.

It wasn't until James casually glanced at his watch did he realize the time, "Holy shit, Lils, it's nearly 10:50."

"What?" she snapped, jumping to her feet and running over toward him, grasping his wrist in her hand to get a better look at the watch.

"McGonagall is going to kill us," he stated.

"Shit," Lily swore aloud. Luckily for them, their Potions class was supposed to be a double block, meaning that it went until 10:00, and Transfiguration was to start at 10:05. If Potions hadn't been a double block, though, they would have missed two classes rather than just one.

"So, class should be getting out in fifteen minutes," he dumbly said.

"Yeah, and then we've got Charms," she added.

"So, you want to walk down there early? That way we'll make a good impression on Flitwick, to make up for this impression on McGonagall."

She smiled at him and wondered how his mind worked.

---

"So, you didn't show up to Transfiguration this morning, how come?" Kelsey asked as the three girls took there seats in the Great Hall for dinner.

"Yeah, talk about very un-Lily-like," Sam added.

Lily blushed for a moment before answering, "I was with James."

Both of her friends sent surprised looks her way, and Sam commented, "James, since when is it just James? I mean since practically the first day of school he's been "Potter" or at the very least "James Potter", but never has the actual name James left your lips."

"He's actually not that bad," Lily said, although with that comment it wasn't clear whether she was defending her calling him James or digging herself into an even deeper ditch.

"Not that bad?" Kelsey asked, shock locked into her eyes.

"He's nice," Lily said, and then added, "He's got this manner about him that makes him very easy to talk to. And, well, he can actually be kind of funny sometimes too."

"Lils, did you just hear what you just said?" Kelsey asked, a bit outraged at her friend.

"I know, I know, but once you spend some time with him, he's not all bad," Lily protested.

"Not that bad? This is the guy that put glue in your hair in fifth year just to get your attention. This is the guy whose hobby is making out with girls and then dumping them the next day. James Potter is the type of guy that all your life you've been trying to get rid of. He's selfish, arrogant, cocky, and basically thinks that everyone should worship the ground he walks on!" Sam exclaimed.

"I know, I know," Lily said in frustration. "And all I'm saying is that he can be kind of sweet."

"Lils, sweetie," Kelsey sympathetically said, "that's all an act, and you and I both know it. He's the type of guy that will butter up to you at first, just to get what he wants and the next day he'll throw you out like yesterday's news."

"No," Lily began.

"Do you remember Sarah Sweeny?" Sam asked. "He swept her off her feet; I remember her gushing her heart out about how sweet he was to her and how kind he was and so on. After a week of dating her, he got bored and dumped her… Do you really want to be around a guy like that?"

"No, you're right," Lily said, sighing as she spoke. She hated that her friends were right, she hated that they reminded her of exactly why she had despised him for the past six years. Most of all though, she hated herself for forgetting about that when she was with James. She hated the fact that he had the ability to make her forget all her standards and all her beliefs against him, and that was all in a matter of hours.

"Okay, well, now that you're back into the sane part of yourself again, what'd you do to bug the fuck out of him?" Kelsey asked with a smile.

"I, I um, well, I was..."

"Lily Marie Evans, please tell us that you did something to drive him away," Sam complained.

"Ah, I know, I'm an awful person. I spent nearly three hours with the guy and didn't do anything. My God, I wasn't even being clingy," Lily admitted.

"Three hours?"

"Yeah," she answered, "Three hours of just talking and hanging out."

"Wait, you didn't even do that project for Slughorn?" Sam questioned.

"No, we're meeting in half an hour at the library," she answered, her face lighting up as she spoke. "That's it! Okay, so this morning was a total blow as far as the plan goes, but tonight, tonight I'll make him dread the day he ever showed interest in me."

---

James was already in the library when Lily arrived. She watched as he opened up a large, brown book and skimmed the index, looking for the potion that would benefit their assignment. In front of him, there were five books stacked in a pile, each one containing several potions needed to cure burns.

"Hi," she brightly said as she took a seat next to him.

"Hey," he responded, smiling at her as she took a seat. He noticed that as she scooted herself and the chair closer to the table, she also came closer to him. That small action, whether intentional or not, made his heart skip a beat. Yes, he'd been with plenty of girls in his life, but none of them had ever made him feel this way before, especially with such small actions.

"Sorry I'm a little late," she said.

"Oh, no, it's fine…I found some books, you can go through them and if one looks useful, jot it down or something," he replied.

She did as she was told and reached in front of James to grab a thin, yet very tall book titled, "Modern Potions Dealing with Common Problems." Judging by the title, she highly doubted that the type of potion that they needed would be in it, but she opened to the index anyways. Although burns could be a common problem, this type of book dealt with simple, fast solutions. These were the type of potions that would work, but not for a long period of time, or would work, but not as effectively as another potion.

She skimmed the materials needed to make the potion and the time it would take and then quickly shut the book tightly. Her judgment on how the book's potions would be, was entirely correct. The potion that she found was not only a poor quality potion, but she would be embarrassed to even suggest such a minor, simple potion to be performed by seventh year students.

Lily glanced over at James and noticed that he was concentrating hard on one potion; she leaned slightly toward him and tried to glance at the words on the pages. "So, did you find something?"

"Yeah, I think so," he answered, turning toward her and smiling.

"Let me see," she said, pulling the book closer to her. She read the material closely, it appeared to be acceptable, and so she began to read the ingredients needed. After reading about how to chop of the gazu-weed, she noticed one minor detail that James must have skipped over. "This has to set for three weeks before you can add the final two ingredients."

"What?" he asked.

She pushed the book back toward him and pointed to her observation.

"Fuck," he muttered.

Seeing this as her chance to annoy him, she put one hand on his shoulder, and leaned even closer toward him. "Ah, James, sweetie, its okay. We all make mistakes."

He blinked his eyes tightly and asked, "Um, what did you say?"

"We all make mistakes," she offered.

"No, before that."

"Sweetie?"

"Yeah, that's the one," he said, his eyes widening.

"What's wrong with sweetie? Don't you like it?" she asked, turning her head to look up at him.

"Well, its fine, but, you do know that we haven't even been dating for twenty-four hours yet," he commented.

"So?"

"It's just that, you know, people generally wait a little bit before calling each other names other than their first names," he replied.

"Are you calling me weird?" she asked, trying her best to sound shocked and truly hurt.

"What? No, not at all; I never said anything like that," he defensively said.

"Do you not like the name sweetie?"

"No, its fine," he said, "I just think that maybe it might be a better idea if you called me James, for now anyways."

She forced a look of confusion onto her face, her forehead scrunched up tightly, as if she wasn't sure whether to cry or to be angry. "I can't believe it…This is just like George Kane all over again." With that said, she cupped her hand to her lips and acted as if she were trying to fight back tears.

"Who's George Kane?" he gently questioned.

"Oh, just a guy, an ex-boyfriend of mine actually…You know, maybe you guys should meet sometime, he's exactly like you," she said, changing her tone of voice to sound bitter.

"How's he like me?" James asked, trying not to upset her.

"Oh, he didn't like names either. I called him muffin one day, and the next day he dumped me," she said. Her hands now flew up to her eyes, trying to hold back tears.

"Wait, Lily, wait, don't cry," he pleaded, "I love the little name that you called me…I could really get used to being called…sweetie."

"Really?" she asked, popping her head up and getting an excited look in her eyes.

"Of course."

"Oh good, sweetie," she said, smiling at him.

The truth, however, was that there was no George Kane. Never in her life had Lily ever used pet names on any guy that she dated. She found them to be annoying and childish. People were given a name for a reason, she reckoned, and therefore should be called by that said name.

"James, sweetie, I can just tell, this is going to be the most fantastic relationship ever," she informed him, grasping his hands in her own as she spoke.

"Yeah," was all he could muster up to say.

"Today, at dinner I was thinking about you," she suddenly said.

"Good thoughts, I hope," he joked.

"Oh, they were amazing," she replied, moving her hand onto his thigh and running her fingers up the length of it. As she neared the top of his leg, she paused and gave him a tight squeeze. "You know, I really don't what some of the other girls are saying. Size really doesn't matter."

He nearly choked on air as the words left Lily's lips. Did he hear her right? "Excuse me?"

She turned to face him and smiled before saying, "I think you know what I mean."

"I really hope I don't."

"James, sweetie, I know you're probably embarrassed because I know about your teeny wee-" He instantly covered her mouth, preventing her from completing her sentence. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks and was still in denial about her actually bringing up this conversation.

"James," she said once he removed his hand from her lips.

"Lily, I don't care what you've heard, it's not true," he said, trying to regain his dignity.

"James, you don't have to lie to me. I already told you, size doesn't matter."

"I don't care," he said, the tone of his voice showed the franticness that he felt, but the volume remained a whisper. "I don't care that you don't mind that sort of thing. But I'm saying, what you heard isn't true."

"Okay, fine, no need to freak out," she said, rolling her eyes as she repositioned herself to fully face the table in front of her.

"I'm not freaking out," he snapped.

"You sound like you are," she remarked.

"I'm not," he said again.

"Fine," she replied, rolling her eyes again.

James was still shocked at how Lily had acted by the end of their time in the library together. Not only had she named him "sweetie" and made reference to certain parts of him that he wasn't comfortable talking about with her, but she also continued to be clingy to him all night long. It even came to a point where she was leaning on him so much that he couldn't read the Potions book because her hair was in the way. And this was all on their first real day of being a couple! He couldn't even imagine what was soon to come.

What shocked him the most; however, was how different Lily was from when he talked with her in the morning. Earlier that day, she was amazing. She was the type of person that he could spend all day with, just talking. She was interesting, funny, and admirable. She showed attention to every word he spoke, every story he told. She made him feel as if he could spend every hour of every day with her. Even the way she spoke to him made him feel good inside. Her cute, little laugh during the humorous parts of his stories made him smile. The way she acted excited when he was leading up to the "good part" of his tales, made his heart skip a beat. This was the Lily Evans that he dreamed about at night. This was the girl that he had been madly in love with for the past two years.

The Lily Evans that he was with just recently, however, was the complete opposite. It was as if she did a 180 degree turn from her usual self. She wasn't full of spark and sweetness; instead, she showed her annoying, irritating, and downright rude side of herself. James had always known that she was outspoken, but the outrageous conversations that they shared in the library, well, they crossed the line from outspoken to discourteous. Needless to say, this was one side of Lily Evans that he could truly do without. He could only hope that the next few days would get better…

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Hey guys, I hope you all liked chapter 5! I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update, but I hope you'll forgive me because this is the longest chapter I've ever written in my entire life! Well, please review!


	6. Day Two: Kisses & Fights

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to beachbabe12, Hollabulooooooooo, iluvsinging333, Miss Myrtle360, pipperrocks13, tropicalpunch9812, pinocchio, Vanessa, alli88, siriusforeva, zuska1985, famousindafuture, Mariana-chan, Erkith, reader-not-a-reviewer, AddictedtoCookies, LCH8292, demen, JeNnIfEr88, PadfootsPrincess4Life, LandJ-SandD-Fan, and m-girls for reviewing! I love you all!

* * *

"I almost feel bad for the poor guy," Lily told Sam and Kelsey as the three girls stood in the bathroom, all putting the final touches of their make-up on.

"Don't feel bad, think of all the crap he's done to you in the past six years," Sam reminded her.

"I know, but I mean, referencing, certain parts of him, that just seems so harsh," Lily replied, giving her two friends a look of sympathy for James.

"Well, it is kind of mean, I suppose, but it's for the plan," Kelsey reminded her.

"I know, I still feel bad though," she answered.

"Where did you come up with that anyway?" Sam asked, laughing to herself as she tried to picture the look on James's face when Lily said he was small in the pants.

"I don't know, it just kind of came to me. I mean, we were sitting there, in the library, and I couldn't think of anything," she told her friends. Then, her cheeks blushing, she added, "And he lap was just there."

"Oh my God, you whore," Kelsey teased, knowing that her name calling was about as far away from Lily's characteristics as possible.

"What did he do, when you said that?" Sam asked, a large smile still present on her face.

Lily laughed and then said, "He got all defensive about it; it was so funny. His cheeks were bright red, and it kind of looked like he was beginning to sweat a little bit too… My God, that was awkward."

"That boy is going to wish he had never set eyes on you by the time you're done with him, Lils," Kelsey told her.

"I know, and just imagine, that was only day one," Lily said.

"What do you have in store for today?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure quite yet, maybe we'll go down to the lake this afternoon, and I'll see what comes to me," she answered, grinning as she spoke. She was going to do more than make James Potter wish he had never set eyes on her, she was going to make him wish he were dead.

---

Meanwhile, James walked out of the seventh year boy's bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his waist. "I just don't get her," he complained.

"Why's that?" Remus asked.

"One minute, she's amazing. She's everything I've always looked for in a girl. She's smart, witty, an amazing sense of humor, honest, easy to talk to, and drop dead gorgeous. And then next minutes, it's like a bloody monster was released from a cage, she's completely insane," James answered, a bewildered look on his face.

"So, the whole love thing isn't working out too well is it?" Sirius asked, a grin on his face.

"Shut up," James said, glaring at his best friend.

"So, that's one day down, nine to go," Sirius said looking very pleased with himself. "Face it, Prongs, there's no way in hell she'll fall for you in nine days."

"At least not without him cracking first," Remus replied.

"No, I'm going to win this bet," James staunchly informed his friends.

"We'll see," Sirius answered, a large grin still present on his face. "We'll see."

A moment of silence passed as the four Marauders got dressed and ready for their classes. Thankfully, they were done relatively early that day, at 2:30. Afterwards, they were free to do as they please. James hoped that he would be able to spend time with Lily after classes; an effort to see her true self, one that he prayed differed from the Lily in the library last night.

Thinking about his embarrassing adventure in the library the previous evening, James looked at his friends and asked, "If there was a rumor going around the school, about me, you would all let me know, right?"

"Yeah," his three friends said in unison.

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Just checking," he replied with a sigh.

---

At 2:35 that afternoon, Lily found herself walking the halls of Hogwarts looking for James. Although they were both in all of the same classes, James bolted for the door as soon as class was let out, whereas Lily stayed for a minute to thank the professor for another good lesson. Now, though, she wished she had left right away as well.

She desperately wanted to see James; it was like an obsession. She wanted to see him and make his life miserable. For all of the years that he put frog spawn in the hood of her cloak or hexed a boy that asked her out for a date, she was ready for payback. There was no better way, either, than a sweet revenge. This was certainly sweet revenge. She could make his life miserable without even him knowing she was doing it on purpose.

She wandered up to Gryffindor Common Room to see James's three best friends, but no sign of James. She took a deep breath and approached the three boys that were seated on the plush red sofas. She noticed that Remus and Sirius were playing wizard's chess while Peter anxiously watched the game.

"Hello," she brightly said.

"Hey," they all answered, none of them looking up from their game.

"Have you seen James around?" she questioned.

"Upstairs," they all said.

"Um, okay," she began. She was going to ask if any of them would mind going into their room to get him, but realized that if she couldn't attract their attention with a cheerful hello, there was no use in trying to get them to help her get James.

She walked away from the three boys and towards the boy's staircase, hoping to see James walking down. To her dismay, there wasn't any sign of any wizard on the empty staircase. She hesitated for a moment, looking around to make sure the coast was clear, and then bolted up the stairs. She checked all the doors, hoping to see James's name written in gold ink across the wooden doors.

Finally, about half way up the staircase, she came across his name. Along with it, the other three Marauder's names were engraved. She frowned for a moment, wondering how the four boys managed to get a room to themselves, but then ignored her thoughts.

Lily knocked on the door, and when she heard "its open" from inside, she grasped the handle and opened the door. Once she stepped inside, she was surprised to see that it was set up similar to her own dorm room. There was a bed for each of the Marauders inside, each one equipped with a red curtain. It was fairly messy, cloths and books scattered across the floor.

"Lily," James said, jumping when he saw her.

"Hey," she replied, flashing him a smile.

"What're you doing in here?" he asked.

"Your friends told me you were up here, so I came up here," she weakly answered.

"Have a seat," he offered, clearing all the junk off his bed.

"Thanks," she awkwardly said. She surveyed the room again, noticing that where she hung posters of tasteful art, he the boys hung posters of their favorite Quidditch teams. She also noticed a few magazines on the floor, most were about Quidditch, but she also glanced at the cover of one with a woman on the cover, wearing nothing but a bathing suit.

"So," he said, running his fingers through his hair, "what's new?"

"Not much," she replied. James stood in front of her for a moment, looking awkward, unsure of what to do. "You know, you can sit down."

"Um, right," he replied, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"True or false: all's fair in love and war?" Lily asked, turning to face him.

"True," he answered, a large grin appearing in his face.

"Good."

"It was a good question," he commented. He could tell today was going to be like the moment they shared yesterday, in the common room. He and Lily were going to engage in a fantastic conversation, and she was going to be his dream girl.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" she asked.

"Of course," he answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, I guess I just never pictured you as that type of guy," she replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I usually think of the whole 'love at first sight' bit to be for people who are hopeless romantics. They type of people that will put their entire heart on the line, be vulnerable at times, and think that love conquers all," she answered.

"You don't think I'm like that?" he asked.

"Honestly, no."

"Well, I may not be exactly like that, but I still do believe in love at first sight," James said. "My dad once told me that the moment he saw my mother, he knew he was in love. They were at a party, he saw her across the room, and he said it was as if she was glowing. He couldn't help but stare at her, wondering who she was and where she came from. An hour later, he approached her and they started talking. They hit it off great, and six months later were married. Now, twenty years later, they're still madly on love."

"Wow, that sounds really nice."

"Doesn't it though?" he replied with a grin.

"Is that why you believe in love at first sight?" she asked.

"Partly."

"What's the other part?"

"That is for me to know, and you to find out," he answered, smiling sweetly at her.

"That's no fun."

"Its fun for me," he teased before asking, "how about you, do you believe in it?"

"No…I think you really have to know the person, and that's the only way to fall in love," she answered.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"No."

"Me neither," he replied.

A moment of silence passed between the young couple, but it was a comfortable silence. They were both lost in thought, surprisingly about each other. Lily didn't see James as the boy she was supposed to be driving away. Instead, she viewed him as a guy she'd like to learn more about, a guy that intrigued her. James, too, was intrigued by Lily. He wanted to know what she was thinking about, he wanted to study her more, know everything about the love of his life.

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom for a moment?" Lily asked, suddenly realizing that she was beginning to think good thoughts about James. She needed to get away from him for a moment, regain control of the plan. She needed to drive him away.

"Sure, it's right there," he answered, pointing to the door across the room.

She got off the bed and stepped inside, closing the door tightly behind her. She grasped her hands on either side of the porcelain sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She needed to think of something, anything to drive him away. She took a deep breath before splashing some ice-cold water on her face.

"Think Lily, think," she whispered to herself. A moment later, her head flipped up, looking into the mirror again. She had a large grin plastered across her face; she knew exactly what to do.

Lily opened the door and was pleased to see that James still sitting on the bed. She casually strolled over to him, giving him a seductive smile.

"Does that door have a lock?" she asked, pointing to the entrance to the room.

"Um, yeah," he answered with a gulp.

"Good," she said, walking over to the door and locking it.

She then proceeded to walk over to James, back toward the bed. She sat down next to him briefly before turning toward him and tackling him to the bed. She fiercely pinned him to the bed, kissing his lips.

Lily was surprised to find that he was a good kisser, a very good kisser. She could feel herself melting into the kiss. It was like something she had never experienced before, breath taking really. It was as if all her energy was absorbed into that kiss, making it passionate.

She almost gave into the kiss, which was what her body was telling her to do. But knowing that it would mess up her plan, she ordered herself not to get too involved in what may have been the best kiss she ever received. Instead, she straddled her legs across him and moved her hands to his chest.

With one swift action, she bolted upright, staring down at him. "Oh my God, this is way too fast for me."

James looked up at her; his breaths were sharp and deep. He hadn't been kissed like that in his entire life, nothing felt like that. It was as if he'd died and gone to heaven; this kiss was magical.

"Too fast?" he asked.

"Way too fast," she answered, still straddling him.

"Okay," he simply said, not yet over the initial shock of the kiss.

"But oh my God, that was, that was really…" she didn't finish though, because an instant later she bent back down to kiss him, this time fiercer than before. Her hands went to his hair, which she found to be surprisingly soft for a man's hair.

She felt his arms wrap around her, engulfing her into a tight embrace as he kissed her. She felt his tongue at her lips, begging for entrance to her mouth. Naturally, she obliged, wanting nothing more than to be closer to him.

Five minutes later, she sat upright again, pulling herself away from pure pleasure. "Wait, I can't, I really can't."

"Okay," he said again, this time fully understanding that she meant no more kissing. He respected her, even if his body was telling him otherwise.

"Don't get that tone with me," she snapped.

James got a confused look on his face, what tone?

"James, I'm warning you, I really don't want to do this," she told him.

Was she completely daft? He said okay. He told her it was perfectly fine that she didn't want to advance to this point of a physical relationship.

"It's more than I should have done in the first place," she told him. She began taking heavy breaths as she rolled off him, her eyes starting blinking too, and light strands of tears began to flow from her eyes. In an instant, her hands flew from her faces; she was crying.

"Lily, wait, don't cry," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She shrugged him off though, uncovered her eyes, and angrily looked at him before saying, "My God, I already said no!"

"What? I wasn't trying anything," he defensively said, holding both hands in front of him.

"Yes you were, don't fucking lie to me, James Potter," she bitterly replied.

"What?" he asked, wondering where this act was coming from.

"You know, I'm sorry I'm not like _her_," she told him.

"Who?" he asked, genuinely confused.

She abruptly got up form the bed and walked over to the stack of magazines. She picked up the issue of _Playwizard _and threw it at him. "Her! I'm sorry I'm not a bloody whore like her," she shouted.

"What? I didn't expect you to be like her," he said.

"Oh, so you admit it then, you look at her when you're sexually frustrated," she accused.

"I never said that!"

"Yes you did, you slimy git," she shouted, her green eyes glowing with anger.

"No, it's not even my magazine, its Sirius's," he replied, throwing the magazine on the floor as he jumped off the bed.

"You look at that magazine with Sirius?" she asked, a look of horror on her face.

"What? No," he shouted.

"Oh my God, this is just great, just great. I finally found a guy that I like, and he's gay," she said, throwing her arms up in the air.

"What? No, no, no, I don't like men! I'm not gay," he exasperatedly said. What was going on?

"Then why do you look at it with other men?" she asked.

"I don't look at it with other guys," he answered, his voice rising slightly.

"But you just admitted you look at it," she accused.

"No," he shot back, "and especially not with guys."

"But you look at it," she said. "Am I not good enough for you? Am I too fat or something?"

"What?" he asked, he could feel himself becoming more and more agitated at every word Lily spoke. "You're not fat."

"That's what they all say," she shouted.

"My fucking God, Lily, calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down? Are you calling me crazy?" she questioned.

"What? No," he answered, but then added, "But you're acting a little crazy."

"Bastard," she shouted before turning on her heel and running out the door and down the stairs.

She left James standing there, speechless. He couldn't understand what just occurred. One second they were having a pleasant conversation, the next she was coming onto him, and the next she was yelling at him for calling her fat. He couldn't understand Lily Evans. She seemed so perfect for him, yet she was driving him mad.

An instant later, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all came running into the room. "What the fuck happened?" Peter asked.

"Lily Evans is completely neurotic," James answered, shaking his head.

"What happened?" Remus asked, repeating Peter's question.

"I have got no clue," James replied, shaking his head in disbelief. "We were having a good time, and then she just snapped…I swear, I'm dealing with a woman with split personalities here."

"Prongs, she ran up to her room looking so pissed. What'd you say?" Remus asked.

"Nothing, I swear, I said absolutely nothing."

"What did you say?" Remus asked again.

"I'm telling the truth. One minute we're just sitting up here, kissing a little bit, and then she gets up saying it's moving too fast. I said okay, making it perfectly clear that we didn't have to do it any more. And then, she snapped. She accused me of looking at Sirius's dirty magazine and wishing that she was more like the girl on the cover and then she accused me of telling her she was fat," James answered. "Which is complete crap because I didn't say anything."

"Well, she looked pretty damn upset," Sirius commented.

"I know, and I just don't understand her at all," James told his friends. "When she first came up here, we were talking, and it was really nice. It was comfortable too, like the type of conversation that I always dreamed we'd talk about. A little bit of flirt, laugher, smiles, the whole deal. And then that kiss, all I can say is wow. I've kissed a lot of women before, but none were ever like that. I something, I'm not sure what, but it was different than usual. I don't know how to explain it, but it's kind of like a thrill, like Quidditch. You know the '73 World Cup, when the two seekers were going after the snitch, and everyone just held their breath, not knowing who was going to catch it, and then finally, England got it and we won?"

"Yeah," the three boys answered.

"It was like that, except better," James told them, a look of pure bliss on his face.

"That sounds incredible," Peter commented, always wanting to impress James.

"It was," he dreamily replied, and then flatly said, "but then she changed. She transformed into the crazy psycho Lily Evans from the library."

"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure…I mean this is only the second day that we've been going out and she's driving me absolutely bonkers, but not in a good way," he confessed.

"So dump her," Sirius suggested.

"But then again, she's magical," he said, his voice sounding heavenly again.

"Does it really outweigh the craziness though?" Sirius questioned.

"Padfoot, you just want him to break up with her so he loses the bet," Peter said, a scowling look on his face.

"Hey, that's right, the bet," James said. "Peter's right, you want me to break up with her so you win. Well, that's not going to happen. You're not going to win this. By the end of the ten days, she'll be in love with me, I can promise you that…And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go see Lily right now, hopefully convince her I wasn't being a pig, or whatever it was she called me."

As James left the room, Sirius turned to Peter and said, "You just had to remind him, didn't you?"

"Relax, Padfoot, they'll never make it the ten days," Remus reminded him.

---

Lily was fuming as she ran down the stairs and across the common room. She even went as far as sighing deeply and grumbling something among the lines of "what a jerk" as she passed the three marauders still playing wizard's chess.

As soon as she climbed the stairs to her dorm room and securely shut the door behind her however, she transformed her fuming anger into laughter. She was so proud of herself. What better way was there to get rid of James than to twist his words into a huge argument? Besides, once he realized that she wasn't interested in the physical part of a relationship, he was bound to want to leave her at once.

Although, that kiss was remarkable. Her grin widened as she thought about it. He rough hands around her back, holding her tightly to his chest. The way his tongue seemed to explore her lips. Her stomach was full of butterflies just thinking about it.

"What are you happy about?" Sam asked, stepping out of the bathroom.

"Sam, oh wow, I didn't know you were in here," she said.

"Well, I am. Now answer my question," Sam demanded.

"I was just with James," Lily replied. "And I think we're over."

"In only two days," Sam exclaimed. "I'm impressed, now give me the dirt, what happened?"

"Well, it started out that we were just talking…," Lily began, recalling the entire story to Sam. She mentioned the kiss, but not to its extreme credit that it deserved. She let it pas as if it were just a regular kiss, not passionate at all.

"Wow, that's unbelievable," Sam said, laughing as she tried to imagine James Potter stuttering about how he didn't think that lily was fat.

"I know, I'm quite happy with myself," Lily said with a bright grin.

"Aren't you glad, now that it's over, that you did my plan?" Sam asked.

"I couldn't be happier," she replied with a sigh. Or at least she hoped she couldn't be happier.

Just then, the two girls heard a knock on the door followed by a second year student say, "Lily, James Potter is down stairs yelling your name. For the sake of everyone in Gryffindor, can you please, please go down and talk to him?"

"What?" Lily snapped, the smile fading from her lips.

"He's down there, screaming your name and saying he's sorry," the young girl answered.

Lily sighed, thanked the second year student, and looked at Sam. "What do I do?"

"Well, you have to go down there," Sam replied.

"Great, just great. Just when I thought I got rid of him, he's back," Lily said as she walked toward the door and descended the stairs.

As she approached the bottom of the stairs, she saw James standing with his arms stretched on either side of the entrance. He looked tired, as if all the yelling was wearing him out.

"Will you stop yelling?" she hissed.

"Lily, thank God," he said once he saw her. "I'm so sorry, I was a jerk. You're right, I'm wrong. I should have never pressured you, or said anything."

Did she hear him right? Was he actually apologizing for something that he didn't even do?

"Please, Lily, please forgive me?" he asked, hope shining in his hazel eyes.

Fuck. He was apologizing for something he didn't do.

"I don't know, James Potter," she finally said. "You said a lot of very hurtful things to me."

"I know, and I don't know what I was thinking…I should have never….Lily, please, I need you to forgive me," he begged.

Bloody hell, this was awful.

"Please, Lily, please. Find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me."

This was pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

"Please," he asked once more, looking up at her with eyes that shined.

"Okay, fine. I'll give you one more chance," she told him, coming down the remaining steps.

He gave her a quick hug, and said, "You're amazing, you know that? Truly amazing."

Lily only smiled. This was going to be a lot harder than she had anticipated.

"So, Lily, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out a little bit. I mean, it's only four, we could go outside and do some homework together," he suggested.

"That sounds great," she answered. "Let's go sit near the lake; it's so gorgeous down there."

With that said, they parted briefly to gather their school belongings. James gloated to his friends that he won Lily back, and Lily miserably told Sam that she and James were still a couple.

Soon enough, Lily and James found themselves sitting under a large tree that sat fifteen feet away from the water's edge. It was a beautiful day outside, not a cloud in the sky. Additionally, it was unusually warm outside. Neither Lily nor James needed a coat, their school dress code clothing was quite comfortable for the weather.

For the most part, their study time together was quiet, with the exception of asking to borrow some notes, or asking questions about an assignment. Every once in a while, one of them would put down their quill or book and look out at the lake, watching the small, blue waves form.

Sometimes they would break and watch the other work, just as Lily was doing at the present moment in time. She watched as James scribbled away at a paper, she guessed it was an essay for Charms, one that she finished late the previous night.

"How's the essay coming?" she asked.

"Umm, it's alright, I suppose," James answered, looking at it from afar for a moment.

"Do you need help?" she asked.

"I don't think so," he replied, but then on second thought said, "Well, actually, if you don't have anything else to do, would you mind reading it? You know, just to make sure its okay."

"Sure," she answered, smiling at him as she took the essay from his hands. For a brief moment, their fingers touched, sending shivers down both of their spines. It was a strong connection that they felt when their skin brushed, one that sent jolts of energy through both of them.

Almost as quickly as it happened, however, Lily took her hand back, the essay with her. "Sorry," she muttered.

"It's okay," he said, unable to take his eyes off her.

"I'll just read this," she softly said, breaking eye contact with James and looking down at the scroll.

Still though, James was unable to look away from her. The feeling he felt when their hands brushed made his heart pound. Never in his life had just touching a girl's hand make him feel that way. But Lily was different, and he already knew that. There was something about her, something he would never understand, that made him long for her. The kiss earlier that day and the moment they just shared were only physical evidence of it. His heart knew it all along though. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he knew she was special, he knew she was amazing.

Even as she read his paper, she looked graceful. Her long, red hair was blowing softly as the wind picked up, flying loosely behind her. Her skin was still radiant, as if the summer's sun wasn't quite faded yet. She looked beautiful, especially against the deep blue lake scene behind her.

"It's pretty good," she said, looking up from the Charms essay.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm impressed," she answered.

"I spent a long time on it," he informed her. "I started it last night, and just needed to finish it today."

"Well, I can see why you get such high marks from Flitwick," she told him. "You're an amazing writer."

"Well, thanks," he said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I mean it," Lily replied. "You've got a lot of skills. I mean, I know it's just some essay, but the words you chose, they really brought it together…Have you ever considered writing for a career?"

"What?" he asked, stunned that she would make such a suggestion.

"Writing for a career," she repeated.

"Are you kidding me?" he questioned.

"I'm dead serious," she answered. "This was amazing. And, okay, now don't think of me any less, but in fifth year, when Binns passed out that sample essay, I knew it was yours."

"Huh?"

"Remember, in fifth year, in History of Magic class. It was an essay about the affects on the middle class after the War of 1856, and it was brilliant, probably one of the best essay I recall ever reading…And well, I begged Binns to tell me who wrote the essay, wanting to talk with whoever it was. Finally, he gave in to my nagging and told me it was you. I, of course, being the brat that I was, was disgusted that you could ever write something like that and was a baby about it and didn't talk with you about it," Lily answered.

"You remember that?" he asked.

"I told you not to judge me," she warned, only half-joking as she spoke.

"I can't believe you remember that," he stated.

"Well, it was brilliant, and I just think you should know that. You're an incredible writer, and I think you could really go places with your skills," she informed him.

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome," she answered, a smile playing at her lips. As they sat there, looking at each other, Lily got the sudden urge to kiss James, but not like last time. Last time, the only reason she kissed him was to provoke a fight; this time, she wanted to kiss him for herself. She wanted to taste his lips again, embrace in a passionate kiss.

She leaned slightly in, and could feel that James was coming closer to her as well. She could feel his heavy breath coming closer. Her stomach began to fill with butterflies. She could smell a scent that was remarkably his own.

That is until, "If it isn't Potter and the Mudblood."

Both Lily and James moved apart from each other, both looking up to see Snape approaching them. He was still wearing his school robes over his shirt and tie, and his hair looked as greasy as ever.

"What did you call her?" James asked, standing up from his spot on the grass. He had a fierce look in his eyes, one that showed how intense and strong he was.

"You heard me, a Mudblood," Snape repeated. "You know, I didn't think it was true, that you would sink so low as to actually dating a Mudblood, Potter, but I guess I was wrong."

"Take it back, Snivellus" James warned through his teeth.

"Make me," Snape warned. Towards the end of last year, Snape had been getting more and more outgoing toward the Marauders. It was as if he wanted to get into fights with them, perhaps to try and one day win a battle against a Marauder.

An instant later, James whipped his wand out of his pocket and pointed it straight at Sirius. "Oh, I will Snivellus, you can be sure I will."

"James, stop it," Lily said, getting up from her spot on the ground. "He's not worth your time."

"Are you going to listen to your Mudblood girlfriend?" Snape asked, putting an emphasis on Mudblood.

With the flick of his wrist and a muttered spell under his mouth, James had thrown Snape back twenty feet in the air, forcing him to land on his back. "That'll show him," he muttered.

"James, you really shouldn't do that, you're going to get in trouble one of these days…and besides, you're Head Boy, you're supposed to be setting an example," Lily said.

"I am setting an example, one that says don't take any crap from Slytherins when they insult your girlfriend," James replied.

Lily rolled her eyes, he was hopeless.

Just as she was trying to think of something to say to make James stop bullying Snape, James was knocked to his feet, stiff as a board. Snape walked up toward him, a disgusted look on his face. "Don't ever turn your back, Potter," he yelled.

Lily grabbed her wand and sighed before saying the reverse spell to Snape's curse, allowing James to get up off the ground. This, however, may not have been the smartest move, because James was furious when he got to his feet. He pointed his wand at Snape and muttered another hex, sending Snape twenty feet in the air before plummeting down into the icy, cold lake. Then again, Snape was lifted out of the water before plunging back down into the lake.

The process repeated once more before Lily screamed, "Stop it right now, James."

Obeying her, James flicked his wrist and Snape was transported over to dry land, coughing up water as he landed on the grass. "I was just having a bit of fun," he said.

"James, that's not funny, you could have really hurt him," Lily argued, getting genuinely angry with James.

"He's fine, he always is," he replied.

"I'm serious, this is enough. You've tortured that poor boy for nearly six years, don't you think he's had enough emotional damage to last a life time?" she asked.

"Lily, come on," he said. "Did you hear what he called you? He deserved it."

"I did hear it, and as awful as it is, I've learned that prejudices aren't fair, but they exist. I'm dealing with it, and so should you," she scolded.

James didn't have time to respond though, for at that moment, Snape had regained enough energy to mutter one more hex. This time, James was thrown forward a good twenty feet, landing hard on the ground.

James sat grabbed his head with his hand as he sat up, rubbing the spot where he hit the ground. He could feel a headache coming about, which only made him more pissed off at Snape than before. He boosted himself off the ground just as Lily ran over to him, asking if he was okay.

"That little piece of shit," he muttered, moving past Lily and toward Snape. Once he got within hexing view of him, James lifted his wand and tossed Snape toward the nearest tree, leaving him to hang there, unable to get down.

"James, are you okay?" Lily asked as she ran toward him. "Oh my God, you're bleeding."

He felt his forehead, and looking at his fingers, he saw blood. "I'm fine, that just hurt…I mean, when Sirius and I hex him, we don't actually physically hurt him too bad, never anything to leave a bloody gash in his fucking head."

"James, let me fix that, it looks painful," Lily said.

"No, no, it's fine," he replied.

"No, James, I'm not kidding, let me wash it up…we'll just go up the castle, to the Head's bathroom, and I'll fix it up," she said.

"Fine," he grumpily responded.

As they made their way toward the castle grounds, using a spell to fly their books back to their rooms, they forgot all about Snape, leaving him hanging there until someone took pity on him and let him down.

Fifteen minutes later, they were in the Prefect's bathroom, which was closer than the Head's bathroom, and Lily was trying her best to clean James's wound. It wasn't easy though, because every time she attempted to put water on it to wash it up, he flinched and yelped.

"James, really, if you don't let me clean it, it could get infected," she told him.

"Well, let it get infected," he said.

"James, come on, it's just a bit of water."

"It stings though," he complained.

"James."

"Lily."

"Just suck it up," she told him. She took the washcloth drenched with water and dabbed at his forehead, soaking the formerly white material with red. "There that wasn't too bad, was it?"

"No," he admitted.

She then held his head in her hands and began to blow on the cut, making it jerk away from her and ask, "What the hell did you do that for?"

"James, I'm just blowing on it. It needs to dry before we can put a bandage on it," she informed him.

"No, I draw the line there. I let you wash it, which stung. But this, no way, this is painful," he replied.

"You are such a baby," she complained.

"No, I'm not."

She sighed and then blew in his face. "Ouch," he hollered. Lily only smiled at this and continued to blow in his face. He caught her off guard though and grabbed her wrists, making her laugh instead of causing him pain.

"Let me go," she said as she laughed.

"No, you're just going to start blowing on it again," he replied, a smile forming on his lips again.

"No I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise," she answered. Just as he let go of her though, she turned toward his face and blew on the cut once again.

"You lied to me," he stated.

"Yeah, what're you going to do about it?" she asked, taunting him with her flirting voice.

He grinned at her before launching at her sides, tickling her. She laughed and squirmed, trying to get away from him. She no longer concentrated on his cut; she was only trying to save herself from his fingers.

"Stop, stop, stop," she cried out as she laughed.

"No way," he answered, a large grin on his face.

She grabbed at his hands, trying to clench his fingers together to prevent the tickles from coming. After a minute or two of struggling, she finally won, making him stop. She beamed at him, realizing how close they were together.

It was as if time itself had stopped, and only Lily and James were left. She could smell the soapy scent on his face, could see where he missed when shaving that morning, and could almost taste his breath. Her heart was beating fast again, her stomach filled with butterflies. She could feel him moving closer, he was almost to her, their lips were almost touching.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry."

They both abruptly stopped and jumped away from each other. At the door's entrance, a sixth year in Hufflepuff was standing, a towel in his hand.

"I, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry," he began.

"It's okay, we were just leaving," Lily told the boy.

With that said, Lily and James awkwardly left the Prefect's bathroom, both of them silently cursing themselves for not using the Head's bathroom as they had planned. They both desperately wanted that kiss, but now the moment had past, and they knew it wasn't coming back that night.

They reached Gryffindor in a matter of minutes, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways towards their dorm rooms. Neither of them could forget the moment they shared, nor did either of them want to forget it.

James sighed as he wandered into the room and plopped down onto his bed.

"What happened to you?" Sirius asked, referring to the cut on his head.

"Snivellus," James responded.

"What'd he do?"

"Insulted Lily."

"So, you guys are okay?" Remus asked.

"More than okay, we're perfect for each other," he dreamily answered.

"And does she feel that way?" Remus questioned.

"I hope so," James replied.

---

"Why do you look so happy?" Kelsey asked as Lily entered their room.

"No reason," she answered.

"Lily, were you with James?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

"Lily, pay attention," Kelsey snapped. "You're not, falling for him, are you?"

"What, me? No way," Lily said, tumbling back into reality. Sure, she had a great time with him during the past few hours, but she was certainly not falling for James Potter. She hated him, despised him. She did not like James Potter, not at all.

"Okay, because for a moment there, it seemed like you did," Kelsey replied.

"No, not at all," Lily answered, sounding very assertive. "I was just thinking about what to do to him next, that's all."

* * *

**Author's Notes 2:** Hey all! I know it's been a while, I hope you can forgive me! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please remember to review!


	7. Day Three: Birthday Cards & Quidditch

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Also, one scene in this was greatly inspired by Wedding Crashers.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to mutti, Willimillia, Rachel, Miss Myrtle360, Lillith Potter, rowling-wannabe, Untamed Loner, lizziee, serindraxx, siriusforeva, EboniteEvans, lillypad123, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, and zuska1985 for reviewing! You are all amazing!

* * *

"Lily, there he is, go talk to him," Sam urged, nodding her head towards James. Lily, Sam, and Kelsey were all seated at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, waiting for their dinner to appear.

"I don't know," Lily whined.

"Do you want to drive him away?" Kelsey asked.

"Yes," Lily weakly answered.

"Then you have to. You need to go over there, not let him eat with his friends and bug the shit out of him," Kelsey informed Lily.

"Oh, that's good," Sam commented. "Don't sit down with his friends; make him sit alone with you."

"Oh my God, better yet, make him come over here and sit with us. There's nothing worse than forcing a guy to ditch his friends to hang out with yours," Kelsey said, getting excited as she spoke.

"I don't know, maybe I should give him a break. I mean, I was with him so much the past two days," Lily replied.

"No," both Sam and Kelsey said at once.

Lily looked startled, not expecting them to react with such emotions.

"You can't do that…if you let him off the hook for even one day, everything will be ruined. You have to be clingy and annoying if you want to drive him away," Sam asserted.

"Okay, okay…but I'm not sure what I'm going to do," Lily confessed. "I've already done the pet name thing, referenced his you-know-what, accused him of being gay, told him that kissing was off limits, accused him of looking at porn, and got him hexed by Snape. I'm not sure what else there is to do."

"Wow, that's a lot in just two days," Sam commented.

"I know, and he's still not backing off," Lily exclaimed.

"Okay, this guy is not going to be easy to crack," Kelsey stated. "You need to do something absolutely repulsive, something that no guy in their right mind would stand for."

"But what?" Lily asked.

"I've got it," Sam announced, a grin on her face. "Think of the one thing all guys hate, especially in the beginning of a relationship."

"Pet names?" Lily asked, very unsure of her answer.

"No, you moron," Sam joked. "Commitment."

"Commitment?" Lily asked, an intrigued look on her face.

"Commitment," Sam stated, grinning from ear to ear.

---

Lily watched as James sat down with his friends. He took a seat next to Peter, across from Sirius and Remus. He looked genuinely happy to be around them, as if there was nothing wrong in his life.

She watched as he piled a large chicken breast onto his plate, adding three scoops of mashed potatoes next to it. He then poured himself a glass of water before guzzling half of it down with one swift motion.

Lily took a deep breath before getting up from her end of the table and walking toward him. She felt bad, ripping him away from his friends. He wasn't such a bad guy, was he? Did he really deserve her carefully masterminded plan?

She was almost directly behind him when she heard him say, "I'm not worried about it all. Let's face it, in a competition between me and Mandel, of course I'd win. He's such a whiny little kid anyways. Do you remember back in fourth year when we turned his entire wardrobe pink for a month, that was priceless."

"That and when he cried about it," Peter joked.

That cocky, mean bastard. How could she even think that he didn't deserve this? He was mean, arrogant, and couldn't get enough of himself. He was appalling. She hated James Potter, simply despised him. She was not going to permit herself to feel sorry for him ever again. He was a no good, lousy piece of shit and she couldn't wait to tear him apart.

After hearing the Marauder's conversation, she was determined not to make James regret the day he ever laid eyes on Lily Evans; she was going to make him wish he were dead.

"Guess who?" she asked, slipping her small hands over his eyes.

"Hey," he simply said.

"I said, guess who," she repeated, giggling after she spoke. She couldn't believe she was actually doing such an immature game with James, but it was babyish and hopefully annoying.

"Lily," he said, playing along with her game.

"How'd you know?" she asked, removing her hands from his face and taking a seat next to him.

"Lucky guess," he replied.

"Anyways, James, I was thinking, maybe we could eat dinner together," she said, wrapping her arm around him in order to play with his messy hair as she spoke.

"Okay, grab a plate," he responded, ignoring the fact that her hand was entwined with his hair. It wasn't that he really minded people touching his hair, especially not Lily, but it was rather bothersome while he was trying to eat. He let it pass though, thinking it could be worse.

"Well, actually, I told my friends we'd eat with them," she told him and then added, "I hope you're not mad."

"Um, no," he lied. He hated it when people said he would do things without asking him first.

"Okay, so come on," she brightly said.

"The only thing is, I'm already eating," he stated.

"So, bring your plate with you," she answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"How about I eat with you and them tomorrow night," he suggested.

"But Jamesie-wamesie," she protested, throwing in another pet name.

"Jamesie-wamesie?" Sirius asked, looking very amused. Out of all four of the Marauders, he was the only one able to keep a straight face. James looked at her in a terrified manner, praying that he heard the name wrong. Both Remus and Peter looked away from the table, hoping to conceal their laughter from Lily.

"That's right," she answered, flashing a giant smile around the table. "He's my Jamesie-wamesie, aren't you Sweetie?"

"Jamesie-wamesie?" James said, repeating Sirius's question.

"What? You don't like it?" she asked, suddenly looking very offended.

"No, it's great," he lied and then sarcastically added, "I just love those little names you give me."

Lily, although catching onto the tone of his voice, pretended that she didn't understand his distaste for them. "Oh I know, I love them too."

"Me too," Remus said, sending James an amused look. "Jamesie-wamesie is just about the best one I've heard."

"Well, thank you," Lily replied, "You are so sweet."

"You know, Lily," James began, getting them off the subject of pet names. "I wish we could have dinner together tonight, but I already promised these guys that I'd spend some time with them, catch up on old things."

"Oh," she said, frowning at his response. "I mean, I guess that's okay…I just thought, you know, that you'd want to be with me…I'm only your girlfriend."

"Look how sad she looks," Sirius commented to James. "I really don't want to be responsible for that, so why don't you go ahead. We all understand."

"No, I couldn't do that," James said through clenched teeth. He sent Sirius a look, one that begged him not to make him leave their end of the table.

"Of course you could," Sirius evilly replied. "We don't mind, do we guys?"

"Not at all, besides, we'll see you in the dorm tonight," Remus answered.

"Yeah, James, really you should spend time with Lily," Peter added.

"Are you sure about that?" James asked, growing angrier with every word he spoke.

"Positive," Remus answered with a smile.

"Oh, I'm so excited," Lily said, finally speaking up. She purposely brightened her face at once, her eyes glowing with joy and a smile plastered on her face.

"Me too," he lied, forcing himself to grin at her.

"You are going to love my friends, they're so great," Lily commented, slipping her arms around his waist to guide him over to her side of the table. "We are just going to have so much fun. And it's really important to me that any guy I plan on being with gets along with my friends, you know? I mean, I want you all to be able to hang out and get along with each other for years to come. You're friendship with them should blossom, just like our relationship."

"Yeah," he simply said. His mind was running about a mile a minute, did he hear her correctly? Did she say 'years to come?' This was only the third day of their relationship and Lily was already thinking about years to come?

"Hi James," both Sam and Kelsey said as he and Lily took a seat across from the two girls.

"Hello," he replied, putting his plate down in front of him.

"So, Lily told us that Snape hexed you pretty bad yesterday," Sam said, knowing that it would make James get very defensive about the situation.

"No, that's not true," he answered.

"Well, James, don't lie, they're just my friends, you don't need to act all macho in front of them," Lily chided. She then turned her attention to her friends and said, "It was pretty bad, he's got an awful cut on his forehead."

"No, it's not bad at all," James insisted. "I did a lot more damage to him than he did to me."

"Okay, whatever you say," Lily commented, rolling her eyes as she spoke.

"Wait, don't do that," he said. "It's true, and you know that too."

"James, I'm not disagreeing with you," she stated, but looked at her friends and made a motion to suggest that she was just going along with his story to make him happy.

"She's lying," he blatantly said to Sam and Kelsey. "Snivellus could never do any serious harm to me in his entire life."

"I'm sure," Kelsey added, looking at Lily to show that she agreed with her friend.

"Wait just a second, I'm telling the truth," he exclaimed. There was no way that these girls could possibly believe that Snape, a pitiful Slytherin, could do any damage.

"You know what, I'm sensing some tension here," Sam remarked. "So how about a quick change of subject.

"I'm telling the truth," James miserably muttered. He glanced over at the Marauders and desperately wanted to be with them. They were all laughing and having a good time while he was stuck with Lily's friends, making him feel weak.

"How's Quidditch going?" Sam asked.

"It's incredible," he answered, relieved that something he was passionate about was brought up.

"I don't really care for it myself," Sam stated, and then added, "But if you like it, that's good for you."

Crap. How could he be this unlucky? How could his girlfriend's best friend not like Quidditch? How was he supposed to get on her good side now?

"Do you not like playing it or just not like it in general?" he asked, hoping that her answer was his former suggestion.

"I just don't like it," Sam replied. "I mean, it's a bunch of people flying around like idiots on broomsticks, chasing after balls, how interesting could that possibly be?"

James felt as if he was slapped across the face. Was she serious? Just a bunch of people flying around like idiots on broomsticks? Chasing balls? Not interesting? This girl obviously had no clue about Quidditch at all. It was the greatest sport ever invented, and people certainly weren't just flying around like idiots.

"It's not like that all," he defensively said. "It's a game about the rush and excitement of am I going to score or is the keeper going to block it? Am I going to reach the golden snitch first? Am I going to be knocked off my broomstick from the bludger? It's about the rush of the wind against your face, and just having a fun time. It's the greatest game in the world."

"All I'm saying is that I find it boring," Sam responded. It was a downright lie, but how was James supposed to know that? In reality, she attended every single Quidditch game held at the school and found the rules to be fascinating.

"I don't understand," he exclaimed, getting very passionate about the subject.

"What is there to understand, I find it boring," Sam argued back.

"Okay, okay, enough," Lily snapped. "I really don't want to talk about Quidditch."

James looked at her, not believing his ears. Did she just say she didn't want to talk about Quidditch? Did she not like it either? No, he assured himself, she had to like it. After all, he always looked for a spot of red hair whenever he was flying, just to make sure she was there.

"Oh, James," Lily said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a card. "I need you to sign this."

"What is it?" he asked, glancing down to see a bright pink card with a birthday cake on the cover.

"It's a birthday card for my mum," she answered, looking up at him expectantly.

If James had been drinking something at that moment, he would have spit it out across the entire table. Did he hear her correctly? Did she really say he needed to sign a birthday card for her mother?

"Is something wrong?' she asked, trying her hardest not to show how pleased she was to see the terrified look in his eyes.

"I don't know your mother," he blatantly stated.

"So?"

"Lily, this is the third day we've been dating, I don't think it's appropriate for me to sign the card," he replied.

"You know, I think we're going to go now," Kelsey told the couple, pulling Sam away from the table with her.

Lily ignored her friend's comment and asked, "Not appropriate?"

"I highly doubt your mother wants a card form a guy she doesn't even know."

"But I've told her everything about you," Lily argued.

"What?" he asked. Lily was officially creeping him out.

"Yeah, I told her that you are handsome, that you have messy hair, beautiful eyes, are funny, smart, Head Boy, and that we have a fantastic relationship," she answered.

"Still, we've only been dating for three days," he nervously replied.

"But it feels like so much longer," she dreamily said. "Besides, mum said that you're practically part of the family now."

James could feel his eyes widen. Part of the family?

"Now, sign the card," Lily demanded.

"I really don't think it's appropriate," he insisted.

"James, it would be rude not to. Besides, mum said that she feels like she already knows you, just from what I've already told her," Lily said, smiling sweetly at him.

Was it normal to have a girlfriend like this? Should her mother know enough about him to consider him part of the family after only three days of dating Lily? No, James decided, this was very strange.

"Sign," she insisted, passing him a quill.

James felt his stomach give a large lurch, and not in a good way. He tried to think of something to say, but Lily wasn't taking no for an answer. He bit his bottom lip and grabbed the quill from her hand. He could feel his hand shake as he signed his name beneath Lily's, knowing that this was not normal at all.

"There," he stated.

"Good," she simply told him before shutting the card and putting it back in her bag. "Now mum will no for sure that you and I are going to stay together for a very, very long time."

James gulped before asking, "What?"

"Yeah, now that you've signed her birthday card, my entire family will be able to see just how much you care for me and that we belong together," she answered. "Just think about it, that was the first of a lot of cards that will contain both of our names."

James felt his stomach lurch again and his heart sped up rapidly. Her words echoed throughout his mind. She was planning on staying with him for a very long time. This was scary. He wasn't ready for this kind of commitment, not after such a short time of dating anyways.

Lily sat there, smiling at him. She desperately wanted to run away laughing. She couldn't believe she had persuaded him to sign the card, but it was worth it to see the terror in his eyes. The funny thing about it all was that her mother's birthday is in April, not September.

Her smiled started to fade a bit, as she realized that he hadn't cracked while she tried to get him to sign the card. Any normal boyfriend would have dumped her on the spot, refusing to sign anything addressed to a woman he didn't know. This was going to be a hard task to do, losing James Potter, and she was going to have to step up her game a bit.

"Know what?" Lily asked. She placed her right hand on James's leg, just as she did the other night in the library. She felt a slight, devious smile appear at her lips. She was determined to drive him away.

"What?" he asked, taking a drink of water.

"I was talking with my mum, about you," she began, "and she said that the smallest ones were always like tigers." She gave his upper thigh a tight squeeze and flashed him a scandalous smile.

He nearly gagged on the water as she spoke, sending a mouthful flying back into his glass. He began coughing, trying to relieve his throat from the water. His face turned ten shades of red, both from nearly choking on the drink and from the words that just left her lips.

"Are you okay?" she asked, lightly tapping him on the back, removing her hands from his leg.

"Fine," he gasped. He wanted nothing more than jump off the top of Hogwarts at that moment. He'd never been so embarrassed or shocked in his entire life.

"So, is it true? Are you a tiger?" she asked, still seducing him with her emerald green eyes.

"I, I don't know," he stammered.

"I hope so, to make up for your teeny-we…" she began, but was cut off by James's hands wrapping around her lips.

"I, I don't have," he began, unable to finish his sentence.

Lily only giggled when he released her from his strong hands.

"And if you'll excuse me for a minute, I've got to go to bathroom," he lied. He needed to get away from her; he needed to think of what to do next.

"I'll be waiting," she said, and then drew her hand closer to her face, making it look like a claw and growled like a tiger.

James shook his head as he walked away. Scratch his previous thoughts; he knew what he needed to do. He needed to break up with her, and fast. He couldn't handle any more of the psychotic Lily Evans, and not even her better side could excuse this behavior. Now, he only needed to think of how he should dump her.

Once James made his way out of the Great Hall, he darted into the nearest bathroom. He immediately went to the sink and splashed ice-cold water onto his face. He needed to concentrate. He needed to end his relationship with Lily.

Just then, his three best friends came into the bathroom. "James, we saw you nearly spit water all over the place, what happened?" Remus asked.

"She is a complete psycho," he answered, his hazel eyes wide open. "I swear, I've never met anyone as neurotic and unpredictable as her before."

"What happened?" Remus asked again.

"First, there are her friends. I can handle them, even if they don't like Quidditch. They make Lily look normal," James began.

"Her friends?" Sirius asked, looking doubtful.

"It gets worse," James snapped. "She made me sign her mother's fucking birthday card. Her birthday card! We've only been dating three days, and I don't know her mother! That, I thought was weird, but I did it anyway. Then she starts blabbering on about us in the future, like years from now."

"That's kind of weird," Peter commented.

"That's not all," James replied. "Then, she grabbed my leg and asked if I was like a tiger! And growled like one as I left."

"That's not too bad," Sirius said, "Kind of kinky, but not too bad."

"She said I was small, and that her mother told her small guys were like tigers," he answered.

"Oh," Sirius replied. "That's gross."

"No fucking shit," James shouted. "I just can't take it anymore. She's completely nuts, I can't handle it anymore. No woman is worth this much."

"So what're you going to do?" Remus asked.

"What do you think I'm going to do? Dump her," he snapped.

"Wait, wait, wait," Peter said, finally speaking up. "You can't dump her."

"Why the bloody hell can't I?" James furiously asked.

"The bet," Peter explained. "You can't win if you're not dating by the end of ten days."

"That's right," James said. Was staying with Lily Evans worth the money? Could he put up with her obnoxious qualities for just seven more days? Surely he could. One week wasn't that long, besides, she had some good qualities. When she wasn't acting like a psycho, she was so much fun to be around. He could date her until the end of the ten-day period; after all, he'd made it the first three days.

"What're you going to do?" Sirius asked. "I mean, she's a complete nut from the sounds of it…So, I guess I win the money."

"Not so fast, Padfoot," James replied. "I'm staying with her."

"You're what?" both Remus and Sirius asked.

"I'm going to win that money, besides, I can handle seven more days," he answered.

"That's the spirit, Prongs," Peter enthusiastically said, giving James a pat on the back.

Just then, the four boys heard the door open up and they immediately stopped talking. No one could know about the bet, just in case. They heard light footsteps coming closer to them, none of them sure who it could possibly be.

"Peek-a-boo, I found you," came the voice of the redhead that they were just talking about. She giggled and flashed a giant smile at James, her eyes showing that she was eager for his return.

James's eyes went wide at the sight of seeing her. His heart sped up just by seeing the frightening look she had on her face. It was like watching a poor, defenseless bunny turn into a psychotic killer. She just looked too perky for her own good. The tone that she used scared him as well. It was high-pitched, like a child's, but showed signs of being needy.

"Oh, you sure did," he replied, giving his three best friends a look that said he feared for his own sanity.

"What're you doing hiding in here?" she giddily asked.

"We're not hiding, just needed to splash some water on my face," he answered. He paused for a moment before asking, "What're you doing in here?"

"Looking for you," she answered. "Don't ever hide from me again."

"I wouldn't think of it," he replied.

"Good, because I'd find you," she said, her voice was still high and squeaky. Her nose was scrunched slightly, but she was still beaming at him.

"We've got to go now," Sirius quickly said.

"Yeah, let's go," Peter agreed.

"I second that," Remus added. With that said, the three boys left James and Lily standing in the bathroom together. None of them could believe how right James was about her; she was completely insane.

"Um, you know what, Lily, I think I've got to go as well. I should really start in on my homework," he told her.

"What an excellent idea," she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "We can do homework together, like homework buddies."

"No, no," he quickly said. "Did I say homework, I meant I have Quidditch practice."

"Well, I'll come watch you," she replied.

"You don't have to. I mean it's just Quidditch practice, nothing too interesting. Really, you'll be very bored," he said, pleading with her not to come.

"But James, if you love it, then I love it," she told him, her voice glowing in the same high, squeaky tone.

"Great," he muttered. "Just great."

"Come on, let's go back up to Gryffindor to grab my cloak," she said, leading the way through the castle halls and towards their destination.

James followed her, but barely talked at all. He just pretended to listen to Lily blab on about her day. Usually, he hated girls that could only talk about themselves, but now he was grateful for it. In the time it takes to grab a cloak, he needed to gather the Gryffindor Quidditch team together for an emergency practice, a task that wouldn't be easy.

Lucky for him, however, he did see his seeker in the hallway. "Amanda, don't forget, we've got practice in twenty minutes." The poor fourth year girl looked at him confused, but went with it anyways, promising to be at field, dressed and ready to go in twenty minutes.

Once they reached the portrait hole, Lily said the password and they entered the common room. "Now, don't go anywhere. I'll just run up and get my cloak."

"Alright," he answered. He sighed a sigh of relief when he noticed his keeper and one of his chasers sitting in the common room. Once Lily was out of his sight, he quickly hassled them into agreeing to go to the fields. Then he ran upstairs into the boy's dormitory, knocking on doors and ordering his fellow teammates to go to the Quidditch pitch. Luckily, he made it back downstairs before Lily reappeared from her dorm room.

Meanwhile, Lily was in her room, complaining to Sam and Kelsey. "He still hasn't cracked!" she exclaimed. "I don't understand. I thought the fake birthday card would get him for sure, but it didn't work. And I swear to God, when I referenced his size again and then started acting like an insane person, it only scared him a little bit. But he still didn't break up with me!"

"Wow, he is one tough guy," Sam stated.

"Thank you captain obvious," Lily sarcastically said before adding, "I don't know how much more I can take of this. I mean, you know there's a problem when I'm driving myself crazy!"

"Just keep at it, he'll back down soon," Kelsey reassured her.

"What if he doesn't?" Lily moaned.

"He will, just be very repulsive at his Quidditch practice," Sam said.

"I've been repulsive all night though," she cried out.

"He won't be able to take it much longer, I promise," Sam replied.

"God I hope so, or else I'm going to need some therapy after this, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills or something…I'm not sure if I can keep smiling anymore, my jaw is starting to hurt," she complained.

"Good luck," Kelsey said as she watched Lily descend the stairs.

Lily grumbled slightly as she walked down the several flights of stairs down towards the common room. She didn't understand why James was still with her. She would have dumped herself if that was possible. She didn't understand how any self-respecting person could stand to be around her. She was not only clingy and annoying, but made Lord Voldermort himself sound like a better date option.

She took a deep breath once she reached the common room. She needed to mentally prepare herself for another round of losing James, which proved to be a much more strenuous activity than she would have assumed. She quickly shut her eyes, as if the process would rejuvenate her enough to deal with James.

"You ready?" he asked, sounding anxious.

"Sure am," she replied with a smile. When he wasn't looking, she took her hand to her jaw, rubbing it slightly. She couldn't believe that her jaw was already in pain from fake smiling, and she still had a long night ahead of her.

They walked hand in hand to the Quidditch pitch, and Lily slightly swung their hands too, hoping it would annoy him. As of that moment, she was praying that the slightest little things would set him off.

To her dismay, however, he didn't make a comment about it at all. He was too concentrated on his bet with Sirius; he needed to win. No matter how badly he wanted to push Lily into the Great Lake and never see her again, he had to remain calm. He needed to continue to date her for seven more days. Seven long and painful days.

"I've only ever been to a Quidditch practice once before," Lily informed him during the long walk to the fields.

"So, you know that they're not very interesting to watch then," he commented, hoping that she would leave.

"I think that they're fascinating," she answered, "especially when you're watching your knight in shining armor play."

"Oh."

"Aren't you going to ask who I watched play before?"

"Who?" he asked, not caring at all. He was counting down the minutes until they reached the pitch and he could fly high above her on his broom, escaping from her madness.

"Travis Harper," she replied. Travis graduated from Hogwarts last year and had been Lily's boyfriend in third year. Of course, she lied about seeing a Quidditch practice before, but was hoping that by mentioning an ex-boyfriend, James would break up with her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he was such a good boyfriend to me," she said. "He was so smart and talented, and a really good kisser too." She looked at James as she spoke and noticed that he barely had any reaction to her words at all. She smiled, knowing she was getting to him. If he was acting like his usual self, he would have gone ballistic at the thought of her kissing another guy; after all, he hexed many guys just for asking her out on a date. Now though, he didn't even flinch. She was slowly, but surely driving him away. She was finally starting to lose James.

"Well, here we are," he stated, ignoring her last comment.

"Yeah…I guess I'll just sit up in the stands and watch," Lily said, looking at the monstrous seating selection around her.

"Okay…I've got to go get changed, and then start practice. So, um, I'll see you," he replied, heading off toward the locker room.

"Bye," she responded, turning the opposite direction, towards the stands.

By the time she climbed into the Gryffindor seats, the practice had already begun. She watched as the seven figures zoomed around on their brooms, flying so high it looked as if they intended to touch the moon. She noticed that James flew down to the ground and released the balls. First, he took out the golden snitch, allowing it to fly out of his hand. Next, he took out each of the bludgers, and one by one hit them with a bat into the sky. Finally, he took the quaffle out, keeping it in his hand. He flew up a good ten stories to meet his team, running plays by them.

After what seemed like a lifetime of warming up, they finally began to practice some of their moves. Lily watched as James and the two other chasers took turns weaving around each other, closing in on the keeper flying near the goal posts.

She smiled as she saw James grasp the ball and throw it into the goal post. She didn't think it would go in, but it went soaring past the keeper's hands.

Realizing the reason she wanted to come to the practice, Lily immediately got to her feet and began shouting at James. "Yay! Go James, that's my man!" She felt like an idiot yelling cheers for him during practice, but knew that she needed to do it in order to drive him away.

She noticed one of the chasers approach James, and Lily could only guess that the boy was asking what she was doing there. She smiled, knowing that James was probably explaining that she was his crazy girlfriend. She could only pray that he would dump her soon.

After several minutes of cheering, Lily sat back down again and focused on James. She was surprised at what an amazing flyer he was. Of course, she always knew he was good at Quidditch, the entire school knew he was probably the best Quidditch player that Hogwarts had seen in twenty years. Yet, before now, she never actually realized just how good he was. In the past, whenever she came to watch the games, she never focused on him. In fact, she bluntly ignored him, as if he weren't even playing the game.

Things were different now though. She needed to pay attention to him; she needed to see every move he made. Lily hated to admit it, but she felt as if even if she wasn't forced to watch him for the plan, she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes off him. The way he zoomed in and out of tight situations made him look as if he were an untouchable life form, almost heavenly. When he went to throw the quaffle, she could tell that his arms were strong and that his accuracy was sharp.

She watched as he scored again and stood up to cheer him once more. "Yay James! Nice shot! Whoooo!" she screamed as she clapped her hands.

She was cheering so much that she didn't even noticed James fly over to her. "Lily, please stop," he begged.

"Huh?"

"Please, stop the cheering," he asked. "It's very distracting."

"I'm just trying to show my support," she answered.

"I know, and I appreciate it. It's just that, it's very distracting when we're all trying to concentrate," he said. The look in his eyes was genuine, as if he was pleading with his heart, not his mind.

"Okay," she answered, knowing that she was going to break her promise the moment he scored again. That would surely irritate him, just as she wanted it to.

"Thank you," he said before flying away, the wind ruffling his hair.

Lily sat back down again and watched as the practice continued. She watched as James dodged a bludger that was hurtling straight for his head. He rocketed around the entire pitch, checking in on his other teammates. Every now and then he would stop and talk with someone, giving them slight pointers.

He then went back to the other chasers and began to practice with them again. He passed the ball to Steve, a fifth year, who in turn aimed at the goal post. The keeper blocked it immediately, flying to his left to gather the ball. The keeper then threw the ball back to James, who passed it to Steve again.

They continued with the drills for several more minutes until Steve finally made an excellent shot, earning a high five from James. Lily smiled at the gesture, knowing that Steve was new to the team.

A few minutes later, James took another shot at the goal, the ball easily made it through the center hoop. Lily immediately rose to her feet, hands in position to clap. Midway, however, she stopped herself. She couldn't shake James's pleading eyes out of her mind. He looked so innocent, so sincere. Yes, her original plan was to embarrass him despite his wishes, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't want to see his hurting hazel eyes anymore.

She sat back down in her seat, staring at him as he took another shot, this time the keeper blocked it. She studied him as he wiped a hand threw his hair. She could tell he was working hard, doing what he loved to do.

Lily frowned a bit as she wondered why she was even here in the first place. Why was she so intent on making him so miserable? Did he really deserve it?

She shook her head. She was done for the night. She put him through enough hell to last any man a lifetime, let alone a day.

Lily got to her feet and slowly made her way down the stairs and onto the grassy field. She looked up at James once more before turning towards the castle. She made it a good ten feet before she heard, "Lily, wait up."

Lily turned around to see James flying towards her until his feet could reach the ground. He then slid the broom into one hand and began to walk the rest of the way.

"I think I'm going to go now," she told him.

"Do you want me to walk you back to the castle?" he asked.

"I think I'll manage," Lily answered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she replied before adding, "And James, you're really good at this."

"Quidditch?"

"Yeah," she answered. That was what she had originally been referring to, but in her heart, she felt something different. She wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't Quidditch.

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**Author's Note 2: **Hey everyone, hope you all liked chapter 7! Thanks for reading, and please remember to review!


	8. Day Four: Gifts & Room Décor

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to Ally French, Untamed Loner, pyscho-pyro-shrink, Blare.The.Adorable, laurahonest, ilovephram4eva, EboniteEvans, puppyluva, I'm Blond. James Blond., zuska1985, JeNnIfEr88, ourlittlesecret7, JPx3LE, serindraxx, lizziee, marrokinhas, lilydarling, Dancer girl923, Miss Myrtle360, greenmaiden, and siriusforeva for reviewing! It means the world to me to know that you all appreciate/ understand my humor!

* * *

Lily stood in front of the bathroom mirror, surveying herself for a moment. Today, she had bits and pieces of her long red hair tied behind her head, leaving the rest down. It made her face stand out against the sea of red behind her. She just finished putting a light coat of pink lipstick on and wore a neutral shade of eye shadow, nothing too special. Since it was Saturday, and classes weren't in session, she was able to dress in her casual clothing. She wore a tight white and navy striped shirt and a pair of hip-hugging jeans. Needless to say, she looked good.

She smiled, pleased with her appearance. Yet, she didn't look away from the mirror. She stared directly into her own emerald eyes. She smiled, seeing them sparkle. It was a sparkle that she hadn't seen in a while, one of happiness.

Standing there, she wondered what caused this new emotion to fill her eyes. The only aspect of her life that changed recently was being with James, but that couldn't be enough to make her feel this way, could it? True, she was having a good time, but it was different. This was James Potter that she was referring to: annoying, mean James Potter.

Still, she was feeling different recently. Her heart seemed to swell with joy whenever she thought about him, something she would never admit to her friends. Could she actually be falling for James Potter? He was certainly shaping up to be a nice guy, a real gentleman to her. Wasn't it only last night, as she was leaving his Quidditch practice, that she felt something new towards him? She told him he was good, but Quidditch wasn't what entered her mind as the words left her lips. She was thinking about what a great guy he was being towards her, he didn't complain once about all the pain she put him through. Maybe he truly did care about her.

Lily quickly shook her head, erasing the thoughts from her mind. This was James Potter she was talking about. He was certainly not a gentleman, nor did she feel anything about him. She wouldn't allow herself to. After all, she spent the past two years avoiding him and his persistence. She was not about to back down now, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of winning her heart.

She stepped out of the bathroom and went over towards Sam and Kelsey. "How do I look?"

"Lily, its eight o'clock on a Saturday morning, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Sam grumbled from her bed.

"Going to go see James," she answered, a perky smile playing at her lips.

"He's going to fucking murder you for getting him up," Kelsey mumbled, opening her eyes and yawning as she spoke.

"Only if I don't do it first," Sam moaned, still not bothering to open her eyes.

"Good," Lily said, picking up a large cardboard box as she spoke. "I knew it would drive him away." She smiled as she walked out of her dorm room and down the many flights of stairs that led to the common room. This was going to be fun, she could tell already. Moreover, it would certainly prove to everyone that knew the plan that she was not falling for James Potter, nor would she ever.

Once she reached the common room, she was not surprised at all to see if completely deserted. In fact, it looked more like an exhibit in a museum than a room that was still in use. Lily felt as if she should be reading a card, telling her that this was where young Gryffindor students spent hours playing games, doing homework, and chatting with their friends. Now, it was abandoned though, only traces of the activities remaining.

However, it made her task of visiting James quite easy. She didn't need to sneak into the boy's dormitory, careful that no one was watching her. Instead, she walked right up the stairs, stopping once she reached the seventh year's room.

Taking her chances that everyone was still in bed, Lily burst into the room. Just as she guessed, the four Marauders were all peacefully sleeping in their respected beds. She stood there for a moment, looking at James. He looked so innocent, so sincere. She felt her heart swell when she him roll onto his side, his back facing her. His hair was a disaster, at least more than usual.

She debating whether or not it was wise to continue on with the morning's plan; he just looked so adorable sleeping there, she wasn't sure if she had the heard to wake him. But no, she needed to do it. She needed to assure everyone around her, including herself, that she was not starting to like James Potter. She needed physical evidence of it.

Flipping on the light switch, she loudly exclaimed, "Good morning sleepy-heads!" Her tone was cheerful, way too jolly for a Saturday morning. A smile was plastered on her face giving her the illusion of having a clown's painted smile.

"Go away," the four boys grumbled, all thinking it was one of their friends trying to wake them in time for class.

"I said wake up," she repeated, this time louder, but with the same tone.

"I'm sleeping," James mumbled, diving his face under the covers.

Lily sighed before walking over towards James and sitting on the corner of his bed. "Wake up my Jamesie-wamesie."

James's eyes immediately snapped open, revealing his worst nightmare. Lily Evans was in his room. He felt his heart speed up, what on earth was she doing?

Looking back on the situation, it was very ironic that he loathed her being in his room. Just days before it would have been the highlight of his year, no the highlight of his life. If Lily was in his room four days earlier, he probably would have died and gone to heaven. Four days earlier, not even his wildest dreams would have envisioned this.

Now, however, was a very different story. Instead of the love he used to feel for her, he now felt fear. He was legitimately scared for his life. Just by being near her, she scared him, let alone in his room. This was a frightening situation.

"Lily!" he exclaimed.

"Good morning, Buttercup," she said, running her fingers up and down his arms. She could feel his muscles tighten beneath her grip. Oddly, however, she also felt her stomach jump and heart race during the swift motion.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting straight up. He was wearing an old and battered t-shirt to bed that night, one with pictures of Quidditch players zooming around on their brooms.

"I wanted to see you," she answered.

"It's eight o'clock in the morning," he stated, glancing at the clock near his bed.

"I know," she sweetly responded. "I'm an early riser."

"But its Saturday," he said, still in a state of disbelief.

"I know," she repeated before saying, "If you want to sleep, that's fine. I'll just watch."

James stared at her, not sure if he should be significantly frightened or not. Judging from the beaming look on her face, he voted that it was a safe bet to be scared. Was she stalking him or something?

"No, no, I'm up," he assured her.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Just fine."

"Me too," she informed him. "Did you have any dreams?"

"Nope."

"I did."

"That's nice," he answered, he was picturing the softness of his pillow again, angry that it the pleasure of getting a good night's rest was ruined.

"It was about you," she said, poking him in the chest as she spoke. Once again, she felt a jolt run through her entire body, an unexplainable force. She chose to ignore the rush of excitement, snapping her hand away from him. "I dreamt that we were together, but fifty years older. We were both sitting in rocking chairs, growing old together. In front of us were four little kids, our grandchildren…It was beautiful, when I woke up, I nearly cried with joy."

James stared at her. If he wasn't scared before, he certainly was now. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Of course," she lied. She looked at him, cocking her head slightly to the right and asked, "Why would I joke about something as serious as our future?"

"I'm not saying you would, it's just that, I um, well, you see," he stuttered, trying his best to think of an excuse. After several awkward moments of stammered words, James finally said, "I care about you so much, and I was just worried that you weren't loving us being together as much as me."

"Oh my God, James, you are just the sweetest man in the entire world," she squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned forward and laid a strong kiss on his cheek, making a loud "mwa" sound as she broke away.

She heard a stomp of footsteps coming from one of the surrounding beds, followed by Sirius saying, "That's it, I can't take it anymore. I'm out of here." This was shortly followed with two additional sets of footsteps launching from their beds and chasing down the stairs after their friend.

"I guess we're all alone now," Lily whispered into James's ear.

"I suppose so," he replied. For the first time in the past few days, he felt as if the good Lily, the one he fell in love with was finally about to emerge.

"I've wanted to do this so bad, since we were last interrupted in the Prefect's bathroom," she said, glancing up and down his body.

James could feel his heart beating fast, a hint of life was back in his eyes, one that disappeared during the past few days. "Really?"

"Of course," she answered, gently placing one hand on top of his. She felt his hand turn over beneath her touch, making it so that their palms gently touched. She could feel his pulse through his hands, one that made her heart skip a beat.

She mentally slapped herself. She was not going to be subjected to James Potter's charm. She wasn't going to let herself give up on the plan just to fill her physical desires.

"James, I've been saving this for a while," she slowly began. James's hands began to sweat beneath hers, his eyes never left her lips. They only intently stared, making sure not to miss a single word.

Still holding onto one hand, she reached her free hand towards the ground, still keeping her eyes focused on him. "I hope it satisfies you," she slowly said, enunciating each word.

He hungrily stared at her, his stomach nearly at his heart, racing with emotions. This was the Lily Evans he fell in love with two years ago. This was the Lily Evans that made his heart race faster than a racehorse. This was the Lily Evans that he knew and loved; sexy, cool, and beautiful.

She took her hand away from his, using it to help bring up a mysterious object from below his viewing point. "This is for you," she exclaimed, revealing the object from the cardboard box.

Suddenly, all of his emotions drained from his body. He sat there, a bewildered look on his face. In front of him was a bush. Not only was it a bush, but it was quivering, like a small child on a freezing cold day.

He stared at it for a full moment before focusing on Lily and stating, "It's a bush."

"Not just any bush," she joyfully said. "It's flutterby bush."

"Why did you get me a bush?" he asked in a deadly serious voice.

"It's to symbolize our love," she answered, smiling at him as she spoke.

"It quivers," he stated, watching the bush shake.

"I know, but I thought it was perfect," she dreamily said, admiring the bush as she spoke. "It's just like our love; it quivers to show that without gentle love and care, it's cold and incomplete. But with love and tenderness, just like our growing relationship, it will develop into a glorious plant, one that doesn't need to quiver anymore."

"It's a bush," he repeated.

"A love bush," she replied, smiling as she said "love."

"Right," he said, looking away from her. How could he have been stupid enough o believe that she was the cool, sexy, Lily Evans that he adored? Of course she was the evil Lily; she was always the evil Lily. There was nothing he could do to prevent the dramatic, overbearing, obnoxious Lily Evans from appearing.

"Do you like it?"

"Love it," he answered, grinning through clenched teeth. He needed to get away from her before she drove him insane. If it weren't for that stupid bet, he would have dumped her days ago. However, there was a bet, meaning he had to suck it up and deal with what she was throwing at him.

"Good," she cheerily replied. "Now, I've got to run, but I'll meet you later today, right?"

"Of course," he answered.

She got off the bed and stood up, bending down to give James another kiss on the cheek before leaving. Once again, she felt a rush of excitement as her lips touched his skin. She felt her face redden, knowing she shouldn't feel that way.

---

Later that day, once most of the student body was finally awake, Lily and James found themselves together again. This time, however, they were seated on the grass outside. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so they decided their time would best be spent outdoors.

"If you were to be any animal for a day, what would you be?" Lily asked, rolling over to face James. Previously, she had been lying on her back, feeling the warm sunshine heat her face.

"A stag," he answered, not bothering to think about it.

"Why's that?" she questioned.

"There's a lot of freedom; no one telling you where to go or when to be there. Stag's are fierce too, which most people don't know. Not fierce like a tiger, but in the sense that they have large, powerful antlers, something to protect themselves when there's danger. Mostly though, I like the freedom aspect about it. Running wild, faster than most animals, it almost sounds dreamy," he replied.

She stared at him, shocked from his answer.

"What?" he asked, observing her emerald eyes widen.

"Nothing, it's just, I never would have guessed that," she answered.

"Why's that?" he questioned, a slight smile forming at his lips.

"You're James Potter, that's all. Strong, macho kind of guy, doesn't take shit from anyone. Yet, you play it cool, as if there's nothing in the world that bothers you," she responded.

"Is that how you view me?" he asked.

"Well, yes," she honestly answered.

"Hmm," he simply responded.

"What's the hmm?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just, you really don't know me at all," James stated, running his hand threw his messy hair.

"I don't? Do you mean to tell me there's more to James Potter than meets the eye?" she asked. Her smile matched James's; it was a smile of interest.

"What about you, Miss Evans?" he asked. "Is there more than meets the eye for you? Looking at you, and knowing you for the past six years, I've made up my mind; now tell me if I'm right… You're brilliant and want everyone to know it too. It's not because you want to brag about it, no it's far from that. But you've put up with enough shit in your right, shit about muggle heritage, that you feel you have to flaunt your smarts. You want everyone to know that you're just as capable, if not more capable then them. There's more though, ignoring your intellect. Inside, you're not exactly the Miss Perfect that you want everyone to think you are. You're still human, you've got emotions; sometimes you need to cry, sometime you need a good laugh, everything normal. But you are struggling to find yourself, and where you belong in the world. You can't make up your mind about it either, it's the one thing that makes you weaker than your peers, and you hate it. You don't want anyone to think you're weak."

Once he finished speaking, Lily could only stare at him. How was that he knew so much about her, when she knew so little about him?

"Am I right?" he asked, staring into her deep emerald eyes. He knew in his gut that he was completely correct about her, but he wanted to hear it from her. Of course, he concluded in not adding in her multiple personalities, knowing it would anger her. Instead, he focused on the Lily Evans that he was madly in love with, not the insane, crazy Lily that he needed to escape from.

"Perhaps," she replied, hating that he was right.

"What animal would you be?" he asked.

"An eagle, or a hawk," she answered.

"I'm not surprised," James informed her. "Both show a sort of independence, not wanting anyone to think of them as weak. At the same time, they show the same as the stag does, freedom. Flying away from the world, flying away from the image that you've built up for yourself. And that, Lily, is my final assessment of you. Sometimes, you just want to scream 'screw it' at the top of your lungs and go for what your heart truly desires, ignoring what your friends, family, and brain are telling you. But you don't, you're too afraid to let your heart take control."

Lily hated his answer, she despised it. In fact, she despised it just as much as she despised James himself. How could he assert such accusations as to what her heart desired? He knew nothing about her, or what her heart was feeling. Not to mention the fact that she was not afraid to let her heart take control. How dare he say such inaccurate things? He didn't know anything about her feelings, not a thing. Did he?

Changing the subject, Lily quickly said, "So tell me, what's it like being captain of the Quidditch team?"

James knew she was purposely changing the subject, but didn't press on any further. He hit home with that last comment, showing her what she refused to believe. He let the new topic slide, and replied, "It's a lot of fun, but can be hard work."

Lily watched as he went into detail explaining to her the details that captains have to deal with opposed to being just a member of the team. He spoke with a lot of enthusiasm, showing his love and devotion to the sport. A light in his eyes danced as he spoke, a light that she had seen only once before, while they were in the Prefect's bathroom, before their moment was interrupted. She tried not to think about that though; she wanted to forget that she almost had legitimate feelings for James.

Then again, he looked adorable as he spoke. It made her feel as if she were right in the action with him as he described his first win as captain last year. Overall, it was a good conversation. Lily laughed when appropriate, showed sympathy when necessary, and even acted shocked when suitable.

"You know, the Ravenclaw versus Slytherian game is probably still going on, we could check that out if you want," Lily suggested.

"Sure," he replied. His heart sped up, despite the early morning wake-up; this was turning out to be an amazing day. The Lily Evans that he fell in love with was back again, she was perfect.

"Oh, and Lily," he added. "You know how there's that Hogsmeade trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like to go with me?"

"I'd love to," she answered, a smile playing at her lips.

On the way to the Quidditch Pitch, James hung his hand down low, hoping that it might bump into Lily's un-expecting hand. To his luck, or more to his purposeful arm swinging, his hand gently breezed against Lily's. He glanced over at her to find that she was looking up at him. He smiled slightly, taking her hand in his. She smiled too, and while talking up a storm, the young couple made their way into the stands.

"There's the rest of the Marauders, if you can handle sitting with them for the rest of the match," James said, pointing to his friends with his free hand.

"I don't know, it may be difficult," she teased, a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Come on then," he replied, guiding her through the crowds of people.

The Marauders all politely greeted Lily, despite the fact that she woke them up early that morning. In return, Lily was pleasant with them as well, even starting to like their sarcastic comments and yelling throughout the match. In fact, she really couldn't blame their loud yells at all. The Slytherin team was such a dirty team, breaking all the rules and being rough throughout games.

"Oh, come on," Lily shouted, getting very into the game as she saw the referee look away when the Slytherin chaser purposefully tried to knock one of the Ravenclaw chasers off his broom.

"You're quite the Quidditch fan," James commented.

"This is nothing, you should see me when Gryffindor is playing," she answered, grinning at him.

From behind her, Lily heard "Psst, Lily." She turned around and saw Rina standing there, beckoning Lily towards her. Lily turned to James, told him she'd be right back and marched up a few rows to meet Rina.

"What?" Lily asked, staring at her roommate.

"You and James look quite comfy down there," Rina commented, referring to the fact that James lightly had his arm draped around her waist.

"We're just watching the game," Lily replied.

"Okay, it's just that it certainly didn't look like you were trying to drive him away," Rina said.

"Well, I'm working on it," Lily snapped.

"Fine, fine…All I'm saying is that it didn't seem like you were trying very hard, unless, of course, you've started to like James," Rina slightly said. She knew it would get a rise out of Lily, make her roommate prove that she didn't fancy James Potter at all.

"What? That's absurd. I would rather kiss a toad's ass than actually fancy James," Lily forcefully answered. "I'm just working up to the plan…it's hard at the Quidditch game, but once we go back to the castle, I've got tons in store."

"Okay, just checking," Rina replied.

With that said, Lily turned on her heel, leaving Rina behind her. She sighed, knowing that her most hated roommate was right. She needed to stop being so nice to James. She needed to start losing him again.

Once Lily regained her spot next to James, she looked out and saw the two seekers high above their heads, neck and neck. She peered into the distance, wondering if they truly saw the golden snitch. Soon enough, her thoughts were answered when she heard a nearby second year exclaim that he could see the golden ball zooming a mere five feet in front of the two seekers. It was certainly a race between the two teams. No one was sure who would eventually grasp the tiny ball.

Lily suddenly thought of an idea. It would be harsh, a very mean thing to do, but it needed to be done. "James," she whined.

"What?' he asked, not taking his eyes off the game.

"I think I lost an earring," she complained.

"I'm sorry," he replied, still oblivious to her sadness.

"James, it's a diamond earring, and it's really valuable," she told him, slipping one of the rhinestone gems out of her ear and safely placing it deep inside her pocket.

"We'll look for it when the match's over," he assured her.

"No, I need it now," she whined, putting a large emphasis on "now."

"But it's almost over…Go! Go!" he said, shouted at the Ravenclaw seeker as she zoomed past them.

"James," Lily complained, finally drawing his attention to her. "I need it now. Help me look for it."

Sighing, James tore himself from the game and began to look around the floor for the earring. "I don't see it," he said.

"Keep looking," she replied. "I'm checking my robes, maybe it got stuck there." Of course, her opinion of checking her robes consisted of patting down herself while locking her eyes on the game. She could feel her heart rate increase as the seekers came closer and closer to the snitch. They were advancing at the same rate, only inches away from the ball.

An instant later, the crowd erupted into a gigantic applause. The Ravenclaw seeker caught the snitch! Every house with the exception of Slytherin was exploding with joy.

James looked up and asked, "She caught it? I can't believe I missed it."

"Yeah, it was incredible, but it's too bad you missed it," Lily replied.

"Crap," he moaned, very angry that he missed the adrenaline rushed ending to a great game.

"Next time," she said, patting him gently on the back.

James just stood there, shocked. This was the first time in his Hogwarts career that he missed the ending to a match. He was so disappointed.

To make matters even worse, Lily suddenly announced, "Oh, here it is. It must have gotten stuck on my cloak."

---

Hours later, James and Lily parted ways for the remainder of their afternoon, both explaining they needed to spend time with their friends. James and the rest of the Marauders were all in the common room, enjoying a relaxing afternoon. None of them saw the petite red-haired girl sneak past them and run up the stairs to the boy's dormitory, nor did any of them see her sneak back to her own door several minutes later. They were too focused on their own conversation.

"She's amazing," James said, plopping hard against one of the plush red chairs.

"I thought you said she was psychotic," Remus commented, referring to none other than Lily Evans.

"Well, she can be. But there's this other side of her, one that is incredible. Like today, for instance, after the whole waking me up this morning incident, she was acting like herself. She was being the fun, sexy, and smart woman that I fell in love with two years ago," James explained.

"But what about her other side? The one that won't shut up and is annoying as hell?" Sirius asked.

"I know, I know…She drives me crazy when she's like that, but when the good Lily comes out, it's like magic. I'm not talking about wand waving, wizard magic, either. I'm referring to the type of magic that when I look into her eyes, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with this girl," James confessed.

"Does she feel the same way?" Peter questioned.

"Sometimes, I think she really does. Like this morning, when we were in my room. I don't know what it was, but I felt like she truly cared about me… I don't know though. I think she's holding back. Maybe she does love me, but she's too afraid to admit it, even to herself," he answered, analyzing her personality.

"Love though? Really?" Sirius asked, looking doubtful.

"Yeah."

"Prongs, don't get me wrong, but you've been dating for four days. She can't possibly love you. And you can't love her either, it's just not reasonable," Sirius exclaimed.

"You're only saying that because you want to win the bet," Peter snapped.

"That's right, the bet," Remus said, a delightful smile on his face. "I hate to break it to you Padfoot, but James's odds are certainly looking better every day."

"You guys, shut up," James suddenly said. "Tracey just walked in." He pointed to the girl, which instantly quieted all of the Marauders. They couldn't afford to have Tracey overhear their conversation, just in case she reported back to Lily.

"Sirius, there you are," Tracey said, walking over to her boyfriend and smiling.

"Hey Trace," he responded. "Before you sit down, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Um, alright," she answered, leading the way to an abandoned section of the common room. "What's up?"

"This may sound like a weird question, but does Lily really like James?" Sirius asked, giving her a sincere look.

Tracey only stared at him, casually biting her lower lip. Should she tell him about the plan? After all, he was her boyfriend. Didn't he deserve to know the truth? Then she remembered her promise to Lily; she swore on her mother's life that she wouldn't ever inform one of the Marauders about the plan. She couldn't break that promise, she just couldn't. Tracey knew what she had to do, she needed to lie.

"Doesn't it look like she does," Tracey commented.

"Shit," Sirius muttered.

"Why?" she asked, suddenly looking very suspicious.

"It's nothing," he began, but after a moment he changed his mind and admitted. "James and I have a bet going on. I told him that if after ten days, if Lily loves him, I'd owe him fifty galleons. If she doesn't, or if they don't make it the full ten days, I win…So far, it doesn't look like I've got a very good shot at the money."

"Wow," was all Tracey managed to say.

"Don't say anything though, James would kill me if he found out you knew," he begged.

"I won't say anything," she promised.

Meanwhile, back to where James, Remus, and Peter were seated, Remus stood up and yawned. "You know, I think I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap, I'm feeling kind of tired."

"Alright, see you at dinner," James commented before turning to Peter and asking. "Want to play wizard's chess?"

"Sure," the pale haired, blue-eyed boy answered.

However, there game had barely started when Remus Lupin came running down the stairs. His yawning stopped and he was looking refreshed, only five minutes later. "James, I think you need to go upstairs for a minute."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Go upstairs and look," Remus replied.

"What? Is Lily up there?" James whispered.

"Something of hers is up there," Remus answered, his eye wide open.

James furrowed his brow for a moment before getting off the chair. He walked up the stairs, taking his leisurely time. He was curious as to what could be up there. Remus didn't look thrilled about it, but he didn't look upset either. It almost seemed as if he were frightened from what he saw.

He sighed as he opened the door. There was only one way to find out what was bothering his werewolf friend.

Instantly, he knew what it was. James looked at his bed and his eyes shot wide open. The red bed curtains were no longer there. In there place, stood long, see-through, pink curtains. He rushed over to the bed, ripping open the curtains. Sitting on his bed was a collection of teddy bears, all looking too cheerful for their own good. He couldn't believe his eyes; there were probably twenty bears sitting there.

"Oh no, no, no," he said aloud, sounding horrified as he spoke.

James ran into the bathroom. He needed to splash some water on his face, cool down a bit. There was too much pink for him to handle, it wasn't safe for a man's pride to have this much pink in one given area.

However, when he opened the door to the bathroom, he felt his heart sink. More pink. He couldn't believe it. Lining the showers, there were no longer white curtains. Instead, pink curtains with frilly, flowery shower rods lined each of the four showers. Framed along the mirror, James saw butterfly posters, all pink, yellow, and purple.

Still, he rushed toward the sink and fiercely turned on the faucet. He splashed cold water onto his face, relaxing his nerves slightly. With water still in his eyes, he reached for a towel, but knocked down a hard tube in the process. Finally, his hand grasped the small towel and he dried his face.

James then bent down to pick up the dropped item. However, as it came into view, he immediately dropped it. It was a tampon, wrapped in pink packaging. He felt his heart beat faster, what was this doing here?

He immediately ran toward the closet door, slamming it open. Inside, he saw an entire box of tampons. More than that, however, were other girlish products. He saw a tube of lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, a hair dryer, a woman's shower razor, and bubbles for a bubble bath. This was insane. Lily Evans had taken over his bathroom.

Frantically, James stormed out of the bathroom and marched over to his bed. Yes, this was pink too, but not as severe as the bathroom. He looked at his bedside table, realizing that something was not quite right about it. Where Quidditch trophies and magazines once stood, were now framed pictures of Lily. Three of the pictures were framed in heart-shaped picture frames. One of them was signed, a note informing him of her undying love for him.

He stood up, backing away from the bizarre scene before him. This was weird. No, it was beyond weird, it was eerie. He and Lily had been dating for four days, why was her picture plastered all over his belongings? Why were her bathroom products in his bathroom? Why did he have twenty teddy bears lining his bed?

He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to get out of the room. This was too much. There needed to be boundaries in their relationship, ones that included Lily not entering his room.

James ran out of the room and bolted down the stairs, in desperate need to talk with his close friends. To his displeasure, however, he saw Lily sitting with Remus and Peter, a smile on her face.

"Hi James," she brightly said.

"Hello," he weakly responded.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Fine," he hesitantly answered.

"I was just talking with your friends here, looking for you," she informed him. "But now that I've found you, I just wanted to let you know that I told Sam and Kelsey that I'd have some girl time with them tonight, you can hang out with your friends."

"Okay," he tentatively said.

"Oh, and James," she began.

"Yeah?"

"I really don't see what you were talking about, your friends don't seem so simple minded," Lily said, a smile on her face as she walked away, leaving him speechless.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed chapter eight! I know, there were some very close things with the movie, but I couldn't resist putting in the "love fern" thing. Also, I know it may seem like the story is kind of flip-flopping with when Lily is nice to him and when she is being mean and cruel, but she's very unclear about how to feel towards him herself! Anyways, please review! It makes the writing process much faster!


	9. Day Five: Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to JPx3LE, zuska1985, ourlittlesecret7, laurahonest, siriusforeva, lizziee, pyscho-pyro-shrink, JeNnIfEr88, Regina Scorpio, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, Dancer girl923, Moony's Warebabe, Lillith Potter, Hannah, Rajal, greenmaiden, Miss Myrtle360, and GossipGirlQueen for reviewing! It means the world to me!

* * *

"Close your eyes; and no peaking," James ordered, watching Lily as he tightly shut her eyes.

"Where are we going?' she asked, eyes still clamped shut and hands on her hips.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"James," she complained.

"No peaking," he said, sternly looking at her.

"This is stupid, I can't see where I'm going," Lily commented. "What if I trip and fall?"

"You won't trip," he assured her.

"How do you know that?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

Without any hesitation, she replied, "Of course."

"Good. Now keep your eyes closed and I'll guide you to the spot," James told her. She suddenly felt his warm hands on her shoulders, forcing her to walk forward. She felt tingles up and down her spine, loving the way his rough, manly hands felt against her bare shoulders.

In no time at all, they came to an abrupt stop. "Open," he whispered into her ear.

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a breath-taking sunset. It looked as if buckets of radiant shades of pink, orange, red, and purple were splattered across the sky. It was gorgeous. Lily gasped, taking in just how beautiful it was.

She turned to face James and smiled, it was incredible. No words could explain how much she enjoyed her surprise. More than that, however, was the look she saw on James's face. It was a look of utter bliss, one she hadn't seen before. The cocky grin he once wore was gone, revealing nothing but genuine emotions. His pearly white teeth were visible, his eyes danced across the sky, and seemed relaxed.

Just looking at him made her heart melt; he made her melt.

James wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She could smell the fresh scent of shampoo and soap on him, making him smell like home. Not home as in her house in England, but home as in close to her heart. He felt like he belonged with her, nothing there to break them apart.

"Do you like it?" he asked, whispering sweet words into her ear.

"It's beautiful," she answered, looking up at him.

He bent down slightly and she knew he was about to kiss her. She could feel his breath radiating from his mouth, making her heart race. This was the moment she'd been dieing to have for the past few days. She yearned to feel his lips against hers, soft, yet fierce. She wanted nothing more than to have her deepest, darkest desire filled. She needed James Potter.

He was coming closer, slowly inching forward. The butterflies in her stomach were bouncing off the walls, about to burst. She needed his lips on hers.

"BEEP…BEEP….BEEP."

Lily groaned, but her eyes shot open. She grabbed her wand off her bedside table, sending sparks out of it that hit the alarm clock that sat across the room. She sighed, but yawned and sat up.

It was all a dream. None of it happened. James didn't lead her to a romantic sunrise, where they could finally share a romantic kiss. She didn't feel the luxury his touch against her lips. It was all a dream.

Grumbling, she tossed her blankets off and reluctantly got out of bed. She made her way over to the showers, washed up, got dressed, and was ready to go within forty minutes.

Lily sighed, knowing that she needed to meet James at the gate to Hogsmeade in a few minutes. Her stomach flipped a bit, but she wasn't sure quite why. Was it nerves of romance or nerves of anxiety? She honestly couldn't tell.

Part of her believed that it was because of nerves of romance, especially after her dream. What she couldn't figure out, was why. Why did she suddenly find James Potter attractive? Why did she suddenly want to kiss him?

Lily tightly shut her for a moment, wishing she didn't just ask herself those questions. She didn't have any romantic notions towards James, she just couldn't. She was trying to lose him, not love him. In fact, there was no possible way that she could ever love him. After all, he was mean, annoying, obnoxious, rude, smart, talented, attractive…

Shaking her head, Lily backed her mind up a bit. No, she told herself. She couldn't have those thoughts; they weren't normal. She wasn't supposed to feel that way. Lily wasn't going to allow herself to feel that way.

Still, why did she find him irresistibly attractive? True, he had a perfect smile, nice eyes, and a terrific body. And, of course, as much as she hated to admit it, his messy hair made him look handsome.

"No," she whispered to herself. She needed to stop thinking like this.

Then again, she could find him attractive, but still repulsive, couldn't she? There was nothing wrong with that. It was completely normal. Tons of girls found James handsome, but that didn't mean they all wanted to date him. Because she certainly did not want that happening, at least for much longer.

Yes, she decided, she could find a man attractive without wanting to be with him. James Potter was the perfect example of that. Despite the fact that she was beginning to find him gorgeous, she could still drive him away. She didn't lose her will power for that.

Smiling, Lily left her room, wearing a beautiful, new sundress. She was going to make his life Hell today. He was going to regret the day he asked Lily Evans to go to Hogsmeade with him. In fact, by the time she was done with him, he was never going to set foot the in the village again.

In no time at all, Lily found herself waiting outside the gate that lead to Hogsmeade, waiting for James. She impatiently tapped her fingers on the armrest of the metal bench she was sitting on. Typical, she thought to herself. Typical James Potter, always late. As Lily sat there, she watched as other young couples left for the first trip to the village of the year. They all looked so happy and nervous, knowing it was the first date with their respected partners.

While staring off at the other couples around her, she didn't even notice James come up behind her. "Miss Evans."

She jumped at the sound of her name, turning to look at James. He had a large grin on his face, wore jeans and a t-shirt, and held one white lily in his hand. He extended his hand, giving her the flower, which Lily graciously accepted.

"You know, you didn't have to get me this," she informed him, blushing slightly as she spoke.

"I know, but I wanted to," he replied, taking her hand in his and leading her through the gate and into the village.

"What do you want to do first?" she asked.

"You choose."

Lily thought about it for a moment, not sure what to do. She'd been to Hogsmeade loads of times, sometimes with her friends, sometimes with potential boyfriends. However, when she went with boys before, she genuinely liked them. And she definitely did not like James, as she constantly reminded herself that morning. Even when he gave her the flower, she did not like him. That little flutter she felt in her stomach was nothing, especially not a wave of joy.

"Do you want to go into some stores first?" she asked.

"Alright," he answered. "There's Honeydukes." He pointed to the store, which was filling quickly with students. Honeydukes was by far the most popular shop in Hogsmeade. It sold something for everyone, it was like candy galore. There wasn't a single type of wizard sweet that the shop didn't have.

Suddenly, Lily was hit with inspiration. She hid her true emotions and put on a sour face. "Honeydukes?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with Honeydukes?"

"It's nothing really, I mean, you're free to do whatever you want," she began. "It's just that, well, sweets are really unhealthy, and I don't think it's a good idea."

"What?" he asked, bewildered by the fact that Lily was suggesting that they not eat sweets.

"They give you cavities, and are full of sugar. Just think about it; every bite you take is like rotting away your teeth. Not to mention what they do to your heart…I knew a guy that ate too many sweets. One minute he was standing there, talking as if everything was normal. The next he was on his back, dead."

"From eating sweets?" James asked, still in disbelief.

"Yup," she replied. "But you know, if you want to eat them and die, go for it."

James sighed, hating that she made it sound so bad.

"Personally, I can't even go in the shop. Just seeing candy makes me feel sick…but go ahead," she told him. However, from the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she would be angry if he entered the candy shop.

"Its fine, I won't get anything," James said.

Lily smiled brightly at him before squealing, "Good! I'm so excited that you feel the same way I do, most people just think I'm crazy."

"Really?" he asked, agreeing with "most people."

"Shocking, isn't it," she commented.

Changing the subject, James suggested, "How about we go into Zonko's?"

"Are you kidding?" she asked, playing up her act.

"No," he quietly answered.

"Zonko's is a joke shop. I hate practical jokes, as I'm sure you remember. I can't stand that shop. Whoever started it, should be hexed," she sternly said.

James's eyes only widened at her response. Was he hearing her correctly? Did she not like Honeydukes or Zonko's? This was insane. He couldn't believe it. How could she have such bad taste? And why didn't he know this earlier?

"How about that nice quill shop, Scrivenshaft's," Lily said.

Now it was James's turn to ask, "Are you kidding?"

Lily looked him up and down, trying to find what could possibly be wrong about the shop she suggested. "Why would I kid? I personally enjoy quill shops…I collect quills."

"You collect quills?" he asked. Okay, this was somewhat weird. Who collected quills? If she was going to collect something, at least make it something rare and interesting. Quills though? Quills were common, and not the least bit extraordinary.

"Yes, I just find them fascinating," she lied.

"Okay then, into the quill shop," he sighed.

When the young couple entered the shop, they were the only ones other than the shop owners inside. Honestly, neither Lily nor James were very surprised by that. The quill shop was not the most popular place for Hogwarts students to attend. Generally, older witches and wizards entered the shop. Occasionally, a younger person would, but only for a brief moment to replace an empty ink bottle.

"Oh wow, look at them all," Lily said, putting a fake smile on her face. Truth be told, Lily had only been in the shop a few times before, to refill empty ink bottles. Even then it was a get in, buy it, and get out situation.

"There just so many options," she said, looking up and down the isles.

"Don't they usually have all this," James said, surveying her as he spoke.

Shit. How was she going to convince him that she did visit this story on a regular basis, yet explain how there were so many options. "Well, you see, they must have just gotten anew shipment. I haven't been in here since the last Hogsmeade visit, you know, since I'm muggle-born."

"Oh right."

Lily sighed; thank goodness she was muggle-born. Otherwise, there would have been no way to talk herself out of that dilemma.

For the next half an hour, Lily looked up and down the aisles, trying to find the perfect quill. Meanwhile, James walked along with her, trying to pretend he was the least bit interesting. Of course, it took a lot on energy for him though, trying to keep himself from falling asleep on the spot.

"Okay, I've got," Lily finally announced, picking up a quill sporting golden edges.

"Alright, let's get out of here," James said, sounding very excited to leave the dull shop.

Once Lily paid for the quill, they found themselves wandering the streets again. From an outsider's point of view, they looked like the perfect couple. They walked hand in hand, carried on a conversation, and appearance wise, they complimented one another. However, this was very far from the truth.

Up close, they were both fighting the urge to slap Lily, herself included. She was acting obnoxious, lecturing on and on about the dangers of eating sugary and fatty foods. By the end of their conversation, James learned more about clogged arteries than most doctors did! It was a dreadful experience, to say the least.

Suddenly, Lily caught a glimpse of Kelsey and Sam walking down the street. She desperately needed to talk with them; it was an emergency. To Lily, it felt like a life or death situation. She turned to James, explained that it was urgent she speak with the two girls fro a brief moment, and hurried toward her friends, leaving James to stand alone on the street.

"Kelsey, Sam, wait up a second," she called, running after them.

"Lils, what's wrong?" Kelsey immediately asked, both girls halting to a stop and turning to face Lily.

"I need a huge favor," she explained.

"What? Did something happen? Do you need us to be obnoxious in front of James?" Sam asked, firing questions at the petite redhead.

"No, no, no I can handle that on my own, I've got huge plans for today…But the favor I need, it is kind of related to the plan," Lily slyly said.

"What is it?" Sam questioned.

"I need you to go to Honeydukes and buy me two sugar quills, a pack of Droobles Best Blowing Gum, and five chocolate frogs. That should last me until the next trip, so here's some money," Lily said, shoving a few sickles into Sam's hands.

"Buy your own sweets," Sam remarked.

"I can't…I made up some lame ass excuse so that I could force James out of going there," Lily explained.

"Nice thinking," Kelsey informed her friend.

"Thank you," Lily replied. "Please, please, please buy me the sweets."

"Okay, fine."

"You're amazing…but I've got to get back to James now, I'll see you both later," Lily called as she walked away from them and jogged over to where James was standing.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked once she was within hearing distance.

"How about we go to some café or something," Lily suggested.

"That sounds great," he lied, knowing that she would want to go to Madam Puddifoot's café. James hated it there; it was filled with pink and frilly napkins. Not to mention it was always so stuffy in there, James often felt like he was trapped while inside. Of course, he was willing to put up with it though, for Lily's sake. After all, it was the Hogwart's hotspot for romantically inclined students. Inside the gaudy tea shop, young couples were always seen, kissing and holding hands over a cup of coffee or tea.

Little did James know, but Lily also despised the place. She found it to be excruciatingly painful to be inside. There was so much pressure put on her when she entered the place. It was expected that she would be lovey-dovey with a boy in there, which she wasn't keen on while many other students were around.

"So, do you want to go to Madam Puddifoot's?" James asked, gritting his teeth and giving her a smile.

Honestly, Lily didn't want to go, but she knew she had to. She needed to drive him away, and that was the only way to do so. After all, she wasn't born yesterday; it was a common fact that most guys found the tea shop just as painful to be in as she did.

Just as Lily was about to answer him, she remembered a small health food restaurant that Sam had complained to her about. It was very unpopular, and most students didn't even know it existed. The restaurant didn't serve any normal food, only odd herbs and plants that could only be found in odd gardens.

"You know, there's this cute new place down the street that Sam is always raving about, I was wondering if we could check that out instead?" Lily asked.

James sighed a sigh of relief. He didn't have to go into the flashy tea shop. This was probably the best Hogsmeade date he ever went on! He managed to escape from absolute torture. It was miracle.

However, once the young couple walked into the restaurant, James wished he was at Madam Puddifoot's. Just by looking around, he could instantly tell that this was not his kind of place. For starters, the waitresses all looked like hippies. They all wore their long, frizzy hair back in low ponytails, flower elastics holding it in place. Their outfits were bizarre too, containing more bright colors than James had ever seen in his entire life. Additionally, the place was felt very smoky, almost hazy. All of the tables were made from earthen materials, and had the appearance of an old stump. Along the walls, magically summoned waterfalls ran. In the background, soft birdcalls and rivers running were heard.

"Well, this is, well, interesting," James commented as he took a seat.

"I know," Lily replied. "It's incredible. I really love it." Of course, this was all a lie. She hated the place and wasn't sure what she was going to be able to find to eat. But it was for the plan, so she would have to somehow manage to choke down everything.

"You love it?" he asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Yeah," she said, smiling brightly. "How couldn't I? This is like my dream place."

"Um, yeah," he said, trying his hardest to pretend to enjoy it. "I love it too."

Lily was quiet for a moment, still looking around at her surroundings. She felt her heart leap for a moment, unsure if she should do what she planned, but in the end went with it. "I love it almost as much as I love you."

James nearly choked, spitting his water back into the glass. Did he hear her correctly? Did she really say that she loved him? This was impossible, absurd really. This was only the fifth day of their relationship, she couldn't love him. In fact, just last week she despised him. There was no way she loved him. He must've heard her incorrectly.

"What did you?" he gasped.

Lily smiled, knowing that this was going to set him off. She was really going to lose him now. "I said, I love this place almost as much as I love you."

Crap. He did hear her correctly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking at his scared expression.

"Nothing," he finally replied.

"Well," she pestered. "Don't you have something to say to me?" She stared at him, slightly batting her eyelashes at him.

James gulped, did she expect him to say he loved her? He glanced at her; she had a large grin on her face and her eyelashes were beating faster now. Crap. That's exactly what she wanted to hear. Could he say it? Could he lie to her and tell her that he loved her? After all, he did love her at some point. Now, of course, was not that time. In fact, by spending time with her for the past few days, James realized that he didn't love her at all. True, there were some days when he found her irresistible, and he was completely leaning toward falling in love on those days. However, the other times, similar to right now, he couldn't stand to be in the same room as her. It was as if she was trapping him, like a mouse caught in a trap. He was the mouse, she was the trap.

"I, I love spending time with you," he half lied.

Her face became sour and she glared at him. "You what?"

"I love spending time with you," he nervously repeated.

Lily grabbed her napkin from the table and held it against her eyes. James could hear loud sobs coming from her petite form. Shit. He made her cry, again.

"I can't believe you, James Potter," she cried out, her voice jumping with hysterics. "I opened my heart to you and all you can say is that you like spending time with me?"

"Lily, don't cry," he begged, reaching out to touch her arm.

She jumped back, as if his hand was a rattlesnake ready to bite. "You know James, I may love you, but I don't necessarily want you to touch me right now." With that said, she got to her feet and stormed toward the restroom, leaving James speechless at the table.

Frustrated, James ran both his hands through his messy hair, grasping the ends of it and pulling it tightly. He then leaned his head down, his elbows resting on the table. What was he going to do? He wasn't sure if he could take much more of Lily's nonsense. Of course she didn't love him. And even of she did, she had no right to tell him that after only five days of dating.

James contemplating ending things with her. He was fed up with the entire situation. Sure, he loved the good Lily, but the Lily that he had to deal with for the majority of the time was not worth it. He couldn't put himself through this much stress any longer.

Still though, he had the bet to consider. Fifty galleons was a lot of money. Did he want to risk losing that much? After all, Lily just confessed her love for him, which was what he needed to win the bet. He could hold out for another five days, couldn't he? He was half way there; he wasn't going to back out of the task now. Besides, James never left missions unaccomplished, and his relationship with Lily was definitely considered a mission.

With a sigh, he lifted his head from the table and stood up. Slowly, he made his way toward the women's restroom and gently knocked on the door. "Lily."

No answer.

"Lily, please, come out," he begged.

The door swung open, but to James's disappointment, their waitress walked out. She gave James a large grin, one that suggested she knew something that he didn't. It made him feel uncomfortable, but he ignored it once he heard a deep sob coming from inside the bathroom.

"Lily, please, I'm begging you, just come out," he repeated.

"No," came a muffled voice from inside.

"Fine, if you won't come out, I'll just go in there," he warned.

After several minutes, Lily still did not come out. James groaned, but pushed open the door, keeping his word that he would enter. Not very surprising, the bathroom looked very similar to the rest of the restaurant. Small, fury creatures were painted on the walls, magically charmed to move every so often. The same nature music was playing softly in the background, and the bathroom gave a vibe of being very in tune with nature.

He immediately saw Lily standing in the corner of the room, a paper towel at her eyes. James went over to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder, forcing her to cry into his chest. "Lily, please don't cry…I didn't mean it."

"Yeah right," she stubbornly sobbed. "You don't love me."

"That's not true," he said before choking out, "I, I love you very much. You just, um, shocked me when you said it and I didn't know what to do. I was being stupid." Okay, so it was a complete lie. But what was a guy to do? He needed to lie to win the bet, and he was willing to do anything to win.

"You do?" she asked, looking up at him with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Of course I do," he softly replied.

Now it was Lily's turn to panic. Did James Potter really love her? This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to drive him away, not bring him closer to her. No, she decided, he must be lying to her. He must have said that just to bullshit his way from being in trouble…typical James Potter.

Using his deceit to her advantage, Lily smiled brightly at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh James, this is the happiest moment of my life." She then pulled his head down towards her and kissed him deeply on the lips.

Even though he was completely revolted by her actions, James still found that her kisses made his knees weak. He wasn't sure what it was, but he ended up wrapping his other hand around her petite waist and forcefully returning her kiss. He noticed that she tasted like strawberries, as if she just applied lip balm.

Soon enough, James had lifted Lily up into his arms and gently placed her on the sink counter of the bathroom, bringing her closer to his height. Her legs wrapped around him, trapping him within her grip. Her fingers ran through his untamed hair, tangling it in her fingertips. Lily found herself loving the wild mop he liked to call hair. She couldn't believe that for all those years she despised it; it was so soft and touchable.

James's kisses soon eased up a bit, escaping from her lips and running down the length of her neck until they rested against a particularly tender spot. Lily let out a slight moan, adoring his butterfly kisses.

As his kisses began to become fierce again, suctioning onto Lily's neck, she brought herself back to reality. She couldn't do this; it wasn't part of the plan. How could she drive him away when she was kissing him?

Lily removed her hands from James's neck and lightly put them on his chest, pushing him away from her. "We can't do this," she said, breathing heavily as she spoke.

Caught up in the moment, James asked, "Why?"

Lily felt a blush rise to her cheeks and replied, "It's wrong, not here. Not in this bathroom."

With his hands still around her waist and her legs still wrapped around his waist, James was having trouble controlling his natural urges to kiss her. He leaned forward once more and rested his forehead against hers. "Why do you do this to me?"

"Do what?" she asked.

He ignored her question for a moment and kissed her once more on the lips before detangling himself from her legs and taking a large step backward. "Every time I kiss you, you pull away," he told her, finally answering her question. "Why do you do that?"

She stared at him, still seated on the counter. "Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I don't trust myself around you," she replied, not breaking eye contact with him at all. Her voice was calm as she spoke, despite the seriousness of the sentence. Although it wasn't an ideal answer for her plan, Lily couldn't help but tell him that bit of information. After all, it wasn't a lie, it was fact. She didn't trust herself around him. There was something about him that melted her heart and drove her wild.

With that said, Lily jumped down from the counter and exited the bathroom. James stared after her, his eyes wide open. He felt his heart skip a beat. This was the Lily Evans he was in love with. This was the girl that put the rest of Hogwarts to shame. She was cool, sexy, and beautiful. She was what drove him wild, her response only driving him to want her even more than he already did.

Once James's mind was focused on reality again, he ventured out of the bathroom and saw that Lily was seated at their table, sipping her mug of green tea. He walked over toward the table and sat down across from her, suddenly having a new outlook on their relationship. The crazy Lily that he saw once in a while was worth it. Anything was worth seeing one glimpse of the Lily that he saw in the bathroom.

"I've got a question," Lily said once he was seated.

"Shoot."

"Every month, where do you and the rest of the Marauders sneak off to?"

James stared at her, stunned. How did she know that? He needed to cover, she couldn't know Remus's secret. "I, um, um, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, don't lie to me," she said with certainty.

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are, you looked down as you spoke," Lily replied. She smiled at him, remembering their first genuine conversation, day one of their relationship. He smiled back at her, glad to see that she was paying attention that day.

"Okay, fine, I do know what you're talking about, but I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's not my secret to tell," he answered.

"I respect that," she informed him, eyeing him as she spoke.

"Good."

Just then, their waitress approached the table and asked if they wanted anything else to eat. Lily looked back and forth between James and the server as James proceeded to order another glass of water. She wondered if she should carry out with her original idea. It sounded so solid moments earlier, but now she was getting along so well with James.

It was a dilemma, one that twisted and contorted her mind and heart. Her mind was shouting at her, telling her she was an idiot for even being nice to James at that moment. He was a prat and didn't deserve her attention. She was supposed to be driving him away; this idea would help her complete her task.

On the other hand though, her heart was fighting back. It kept on telling her that he wasn't so bad after all and he deserved a chance. Besides, their conversation was going well and the moment they shared in the restroom was enticing.

In the end, Lily's mind won the battle. She narrowed her eyes on James, jumped to her feet, and yelled, "I can't believe you; you're hitting on our waitress!"

The waitress stepped back a moment, a shocked look on her face. James stared at Lily, a look of disbelief on his face.

"You filthy pig! You tell me you love me and then go ahead and stare at this poor woman's breasts. I can't believe you!" Lily shouted. She stormed off to the bathroom once more, fuming as she left.

James sat there, still stunned. What just happened? The waitress, along with everyone else in the building stared at James.

"I wasn't looking," he stated.

She gave him a look before stomping away toward the bathroom where she quickly met Lily. "He doesn't seem so bad," the woman said.

"I know, but it's a long story," Lily replied. "Thanks so much for going along with it."

"It's no problem, anything to help another witch," the waitress responded.

Lily flashed the woman a smile before transforming back into angry Lily again. She stomped back into the restaurant and marched towards James, who was standing now. "I don't know about you, but I'm leaving."

James didn't say anything, but followed the red-haired girl out of the building, leaving money on the table for the bill.

"James Potter, you make me so mad sometimes," Lilt announced, stopping in the middle of the road and facing him.

"Lily, you're acting crazy," he began. "I wasn't looking at her at all."

"That's what they all say," she snapped.

"But I'm not most guys," he told her, grasping her arms as he spoke.

"Don't touch me," Lily snarled. "You're a pig, a filthy pig."

"Lily, come on," he whined. "Why would I ever even look at another woman, let alone hit on another one?"

"I don't know, men are idiots," she suggested. "They can never settle with just one."

James was starting to get mad now. "Just one? That's not fair, nor is it true…And even if it were, don't you think you're enough woman to last me a life time?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

"God, Lily. One minute you're cool, amazing, and fun to be around. The next you're flipping out because I don't say the right thing."

"You didn't say you loved me back," she argued.

"You got pissed off at me for wanting to eat dinner with my friends!" he exclaimed.

"Don't even start with me," Lily hissed.

"You fucking accused me of being gay," he violently whispered. "And now you think I'm staring at the waitress's breasts. What is it Lily? I mean, you're up, you're down, you're everywhere!"

"Shut up," she snarled. "My God James, you can be such a brat."

"Only when you're being a bloody psychotic woman," he retorted. So much for the crazy Lily didn't come close to the cool Lily. He couldn't stand this Lily. No one was worth this much pain and suffering: no one.

"Is that so?"

"You tell me."

"So, are we over then?" Lily asked. Her brain was praying for a yes to escape his lips, but her heart was wishing for a no.

"I guess so," he answered.

With that said, Lily turned on her heel and walked away. It was somewhat reassuring to know that the whole situation was over. She didn't have to pretend anymore. She could go back to hating him again, and openly referring to him as "the annoying boy that won't go away."

Yet, at the same time, she felt empty. For the past five days, she was constantly surrounded by James. Now however, she was about to enter a life where she wouldn't ever see him again, apart from classes that is. It was an odd feeling, one that made her heart throb.

Lily looked back and saw that James was walking toward the other end of town. She couldn't believe he wasn't even trying to get her back. He wasn't even watching her leave! If it had been a week earlier, he would have been kissing the ground she walked on. Now, however, he wanted nothing to do with her. How could this happen?

She miserably made her way closer to main shops in town. She needed to talk with her friends; she needed some sort of comfort. First, she walked into The Three Broomsticks, but didn't see any sign of them. She did see Rina and Tracey, but decided they weren't who she wanted to speak with. She needed Kelsey and Sam.

Her next stop was Honeydukes, which to her delight contained her two best friends. She quickly walked over to them and sighed.

"Lily, what are you doing here?" Sam exclaimed.

"It's over," she answered.

"James?" Kelsey asked.

Lily nodded her head, averting her eyes to the ground.

"Congratulations, you've officially lost James Potter," Kelsey said, a smile on her face.

"And in record time too, only five days," Sam added. "I think we should celebrate with a few butterbeers."

This was not what Lily had expected. She thought they would console herm tell her everything was going to be okay in the end. Lily expected to be engulfed in a large embrace, a sign to show their sympathy.

However, as soon as the thoughts entered her mind, she mentally slapped herself. Losing James was the goal; it was something that she dreamed of for years. Of course her friends would congratulate her, in their eyes, it was a job well done.

Lily sighed, knowing she should feel the same way as her friends. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. A part of her enjoyed the constant attention he gave her, his goofy smile, and the way he was so certain about himself. She missed him already.

"Lils, are you there?" Kelsey asked, waving her hands in front of Lily's face, snapping her back into reality.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to get some butterbeers?" Sam asked, it was obviously the second time the question was asked.

"Sure," she faintly answered. The soothing liquid would cheer her up, right?

Little did the three girls know, but the Marauders had just entered The Three Broomsticks, where they sat at their usual table near the back of the room. Once Lily and her friends entered the bar, Lily felt her heart drop.

"He's here," she muttered to her friends.

"James?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered, snapping her gaze away from the black haired boy and dodging toward the nearest empty table.

Sam went up to the bar area and ordered them all drinks. Once she was back, Lily grasped one of the butterbeers into her hands and swiftly put the bottle to her lips. Every once in a while, she would slip a glance up at James. At times, he was smiling, which made Lily's stomach flutter. Other times, he looked as if he was agonizing over something. Lily sighed, she wanted nothing more than to be with him.

A radar signal in her brain suddenly went off. Did she just think that? It couldn't be possible. She hated James, why was she thinking these crazy thoughts?

She didn't have time to ponder it any longer though. Just then, James approached the table and looked straight at Lily.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Okay," she replied, standing up from her seat. She followed him outside, neither of them speaking as they walked.

"I'm sorry," he bluntly stated.

That was not what she had been expecting. "You are?"

"I shouldn't have been so rude, and I apologize…I'm sorry, Lily. I was acting stupid, and I don't know why I let you get away. I do, I do love you," James told her, a slightly pained look on his face. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. He certainly didn't want to get back together with Lily; in fact, he wanted nothing to do with her. She was an absolute basket case and he could only pray that she was taking some sort of medication that made her this way.

"No, its okay…I'm sorry too, I overreacted a little bit," she admitted. "So, um, James, what do you want to do about us?"

"I'd, I'd love it if we stayed together," he said, taking a deep breath before and after he spoke.

Lily smiled and took his hand in hers.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Hey guys, I hope you liked the ninth chapter! I know, it was kind of jumpy at times, but I hope you don't mind! Also, I promise that they will start being nice to each other soon, just give it time! Please review, it helps the writing process a lot!


	10. Day Six: Hatred & Surprises

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to ourlittlesecret7, Dancer girl923, JeNnIfEr88, JPx3LE, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, CrazzyD', marrokinhas, pyscho-pyro-shrink, mei5, Katie, siriusforeva, laurahonest, lizziee, zuska1985, EboniteEvans, hoolihoopgrl131, Miss Myrtle360, greenmaiden, LCH8292, sequin, reader, thehalfbloodprincess, potterchik, and Untamed Loner for reviewing! You are all amazing!

* * *

"Why do you look so happy?" Tracey asked Lily. The two girls, plus Rina, were all in their dorm room, resting after a tiring morning of classes. It was lunch break now, and Rina was flipping through a magazine, Tracey was painting her nails, and Lily was staring off into space, a large grin on her face.

Tracey's questioned snapped Lily back into reality and out of her own little world. "No reason."

"Are you starting to finally lose Potter?" Tracey questioned, turning the cap of red nail polish bottle tightly shut. She then went over to Lily's bed and sat on the corner of it.

Hearing the question, Rina perked up and intently stared at Lily. Her magazine was left completely ignored.

"We broke up for a little bit yesterday, but we're back together," Lily answered.

"Almost," Tracey replied, giving Lily a hopeful look.

Lily sighed, wondering if she should tell her two roommates how she really felt. She knew she couldn't tell Sam or Kelsey; they would make too big of deal. Besides, neither of her two best friends actually liked James. They viewed him as an arrogant brat, just as Lily used to. Tracey and Rina, however, were different. Neither of them were particularly good friends with James, but they didn't despise him either.

After careful consideration, Lily finally asked, "Is it weird that I'm starting to think he's not that bad of a guy?"

At that, Rina bolted upright and ran over to Lily's bed. There was no way this was happening; Lily Evans was supposed to lose James, not fall in love with him. "What do you mean? Like as a friend?" she asked, hammering questions at the bewildered girl in front of her.

"I, I don't know," Lily replied, her arms stiffening as she spoke. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything at all.

"You can't seriously like him," Rina stated. "I mean, he drives you crazy, he always has."

"I know, but I've gotten to know him so much better over these past few days," she responded.

"But what about all those horrible things he's done in the past?" Rina hysterically reminded her.

"I know, he was such an asshole, but he seems like he's changed a lot," Lily replied.

"You think he's changed?" Rina asked, suddenly thinking of an ingenious plan. "He hasn't changed a bit."

"He doesn't hex people anymore," Lily stated before adding, "And he hardly ever shows off."

"He hexes Snape all the time," Rina snapped.

"Well, yes, he did once, but it was kind of sweet. Snape called me a, well, a you-know-what, and James got mad at him," Lily told her, shrugging as she spoke.

"Once, try like five times a day," Rina exclaimed, exaggerating the truth.

"He does?"

"You haven't seen any of this?"

"No."

"Well, he does," Rina falsely informed Lily. "He must just not do it when you're around, to try and impress you or something."

"Wow, I didn't know that," Lily dumbly stated. She couldn't believe her ears. How could James do that? He promised her that his hexing days were over; he swore that he would stop for her. How could he lie to her like that?

Then again, she should have known. That was a typical James Potter stunt. He just wanted her to think of him as a nice wizard in order to make her like him. Well, she had news for him; it didn't work.

Lily felt so stupid, how could she have even thought about liking him? Guys like James Potter never change, why did she think he did? She made a promise to herself, forcing herself to drop any feeling she might have for James. He was going to regret the day he ever messed with Lily Evans.

"Well," Lily huffed. "I've got some things to do, so if you'll excuse me."

"Where're you going?" Rina asked.

"To go pay a little visit to James," she answered, an evil smile across her rosy lips.

"Does this mean that you're going back to torturing him?" Tracey questioned.

"Oh, I'm going to make him wish he were dead," Lily replied, heading out the door as she spoke.

Once Lily was fully out of sight, Tracey turned to Rina and gave her a puzzled look. "What was that all about? James hasn't hexed anyone since the little Snape incident the other day, and even that was miniscule compared to his usual stuff."

"No kidding, but I don't want Lily getting in the way of my plan," Rina hissed.

"You're still determined to get with James then?"

"Of course, now I just need him to crack. Then he'll coming running to me," Rina replied. She was going to get James Potter to like her if it was the last thing she did. For her entire Hogwarts career, she harbored a crush on the Head Boy. However, Lily Evans always got in the way; James was too stuck up on her. Now though, once he was finally driven away from the Head Girl, Rina would be able to act. She would finally be able to achieve her dream of being James Potter's girlfriend.

After a slight pause, Tracey said. "The other day, I was with Sirius and he told me something…I'm not sure if I should tell Lily or not. He made me swear not to tell anyone, otherwise James would kill him."

"What is it?" Rina asked, showing a great deal of interest.

"Swear you won't say anything?" Tracey hesitantly asked.

"I promise."

"Okay…on the first day of school, Sirius and James made a bet. If Lily loves James after ten days, then James wins fifty galleons. If not, Sirius wins the money," Tracey admitted.

"They made a bet?"

"Yeah."

"Did you tell Sirius about Lily's plan?"

"No."

"So none of them know she's trying to drive him away?"

"Nope."

"So that's why James is putting up with all of Lily's bullshit,' Rina stated.

"I would assume so."

"Tracey, this is amazing," Rina exclaimed. "Once the ten days is over, he'll dump Lily, and come running to me, anything to get away from what he presumes to be a complete basket case."

"Do you think I should tell her? I mean, Sirius told me not to, but it just seems so awful," Tracey said, her eyes showing the sincerity of her questions.

Rina thought about it for a moment before answering, "No, if you do, and Sirius finds out, he'll probably kill you. Besides, there's only four days left before James wins his money, and Lily loses her guy. It'll all be okay…I mean, it's not like they actually like each other."

---

As Tracey and Rina were thoroughly discussing the recently learned about bet, Lily was running around Hogwarts like a madman. She knew the perfect way to drive James further away from her, but it required quite a lot of work and effort. Her first stop was the owlery.

Stepping into the deserted area, Lily quickly pulled out a quill, ink, and piece of parchment. She scribbled a note, re-read her letter, and sent it on its way. She smiled to herself, praying that she would get a response back by the time her afternoon classes were finished.

Next, Lily found herself running down numerous flights of stairs all the way down to the dungeons. She was out of breath by the time she reached Professor Slughorn's office. She knocked on the door, and was graciously welcomed into the room.

"How can I help you, Miss Evans?" Slughorn asked, a cheerful smile on his face. He adored seeing his favorite students out of class, especially Lily. She was by far the brightest student he had ever taught (and liked.) Of course, James Potter and Sirius Black were both among the bright young intellectuals, but Slughorn wasn't fond of either of them, despite the fact that both came from very prominent families.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could possibly borrow a few ingredients?" she asked.

"What for?"

Without explaining exactly what she was doing, Lily told him the potions she planned on brewing. It wasn't a difficult potion, nor did it take more than ten minutes to brew, but Lily desperately needed it. She used the excuse that she wanted extra practice, knowing that her charm would win over her professor's heart, making it impossible for him to refuse her.

"Miss Evans, a young, bright witch like yourself, making this potion? It seems too elementary for you," Slughorn commented as he pulled out ingredients from various jars.

"I know it's a simple potion, but its one that requires very exact numbers, which is a skill that I want to practice," Lily half lied. True, the potion did require exactness, but Lily was one of the best in their year at measuring exactness, she certainly did not need any practice.

"Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.

Lily knew she had to think of something clever, Slughorn wasn't buying her excuse. "Okay, to be honest, I'm tutoring a second year, but she begged that I wouldn't let anyone know."

Slughorn immediately accepted Lily's lie, believing every word. Gathering all her newly collected supplies, Lily then rushed back up to Gryffindor and bolted for her room. She laid everything she would need out and planned to brew the potion as soon as her last class was let out.

Lily looked at her clock and saw that she still had half an hour until Charms began. She glanced around the empty room and dove under her bed to grab old editions of different magazines. She flipped through the pages, every once in a while stopping to tear out an image.

Twenty minutes later, she had a large stack of photographs from her magazine sitting on her bed next to the ingredients. She then grabbed her book bag and headed to class, grinning as she descended the several flights of stairs.

All throughout her classes, Lily kept glancing at the clock, watching as the seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours. She found it hard to contain herself, which was very unusual for Lily. Generally, she took prompt, precise notes during class. Today, however, her sheet of notepaper was virtually blank. She just couldn't concentrate.

What made matters worse was the fact that in Transfiguration, which was the last class of the day, James was selected as the example for several spells. Every time he stood up, Lily's mind drifted back to her plan. She could barely keep a straight face, imagining the look in his eyes when he saw her masterpiece.

Finally, Lily was dismissed from her last class of the day. She bolted out of the room, not even waiting for her closest friends. She practically ran toward the owlery, praying that the reply letter was waiting for her. To Lily's great fortune, it was there. She smiled, grasping at it with both hands. She felt her stomach fill with butterflies; this was going to be amazing. James Potter wasn't even going to know what hit him when he saw this.

She then ran back to Gryffindor and up to her room, locking herself in the bathroom with all of her ingredients. It didn't take long to brew the potion, nor did it take her very long to apply it to the objects from the reply letter.

An hour later, Lily's plan was set. All of the preparation was completed; now all she had to do was find James.

She grinned as she picked up the large white book, gently carrying it in her arms. She then leisurely walked down the many flights of stairs to reach the common room, hoping that James would be seated there. Her smile increased once she saw him in the far corner with the rest of his friends.

Sneaking up behind him, Lily put her fingers to her lips, showing Sirius, Remus, and Peter that she didn't want them to mention her presence. She softly put the large book on the floor and placed her small hands over James's eyes.

"Guess who?" she squealed.

She felt James stiffen beneath her hands and knew he was frightened at hearing her voice. This was exactly what she wanted. In no time at all he would be fed up with her and their relationship would be over.

"Lily?" he shakily asked.

"You got it," she exclaimed, releasing his face from her hands and sitting down on the arm of his chair. "So, what're you doing?"

"Just playing wizard's chess," he answered, slanting forward and moving one of his pieces.

"Oh, how fun," she stated, watching on as James and Peter moved their pieces. "But know what else would be fun?"

"What?" he asked, not looking up from the board in front of him.

"If we went up to your room," she answered, placing a seductive hand over his shoulder.

With that said, all four boys looked at Lily. James couldn't believe she suggested that in front of all his friends; he didn't think she was quite that bold. He wondered if it would be a good idea. After all, the few times that he and Lily had been in any sort of intimate situation, it didn't end well. Of course, the time that they did spend together, before she became weird, was very enjoyable. He loved the taste of her lips and the way she could make his heart speed up with just one look.

"Um, alright," he finally replied, getting up from his chair and allowing Remus to finish the game for him.

Lily got up as well and reached down to grab the large book she brought with her. She then followed James up the boy's staircase and into his room, being careful not to be observed by anyone else in the common room.

When they reached James's dorm room, Lily noticed that her decorations were still in place. Pink could be seen everywhere. She smiled, pleased with her creative work. "I love what you've done with that place," she joked.

With a little bit of an attitude, James remarked, "I'm glad."

Lily noticed his disgruntled look on his face, but ignored it completely. She sat down on his bed and patted the space next to her, urging him to come over. "Sit down."

He obeyed her request and sat next to her. He then glanced at the large white book in her arms and asked, "What's that?"

"Oh, it's just a little something I whipped up in my free time," she said as she opened it to the first page.

James looked at it with horror. Staring back at him was a photograph of him and Lily together. Lily was dressed in a white gown and he was clad in a tuxedo. It was a picture of a wedding, one in which he was the groom and she was the bride.

"Do you like it? This is of our wedding," she informed him. "We're both wearing top of the line outfits."

"How?"

"Oh, it's nothing too special…I owled your mother and asked for some pictures of you, which she gladly sent back. And then I flipped through some magazines and found all these great pictures to use. Then, using the picture merger potion, which I brewed up this afternoon, I compiled the pictures to make our family album," Lily answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You owled my mother?" he asked, a horrified look on his face.

"Yeah," she answered, smiling at him. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No, not mad," he replied, his face showing otherwise. "Just a little surprised."

"Yeah, she writes such good letters too," Lily stated. "Here's the one I just got… 'Dear Lily, I'm so pleased that you and James are having such a great time together. He's told us so much about you, and now the two of you are finally together. It couldn't make us happier. I hope these photographs will come in handy, and be sure to send me some of your artwork. Love always, Linda Potter.'… Isn't that so sweet?"

James sat very still, as if he were paralyzed. "You owled my mum."

"Yes silly, we've been over this already," she laughed. "Oh, but that reminds me, I've still got to owl her again later tonight and give her a few sample pictures."

"I don't think you should," he said, looking angrily down at the book in front of him.

"What? You don't think she'll like this?"

"Well, it's just, it's kind of out there," he began.

"Out there?" she asked, her voice rising as she spoke. "Do you mean to tell me you don't like our family album?"

"No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying," he hurriedly answered. "I love it…the wedding looks amazing." It took a lot of energy for him to say those words, knowing it was a complete lie.

"Doesn't it look amazing," she said with a sigh.

"Yeah."

"Do you want to see the rest?" she asked, completely ignoring James's initial reaction to the album.

"Sure."

Lily flipped to the next page, which showed a picture of her, James, and a tiny little baby. "This is our first born child, a little girl named Fern."

"Fern?" James asked.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she said.

"Fern," James repeated.

"It's always been a dream of mine to name my first born daughter Fern," Lily lied, praying that James would find the name as repulsive as she did. After all, it was a very unusual name; one that she hoped no one in his or her right mind would every name a child.

"Really?" he choked out.

"Yeah, do you like it?"

"I, I love it," he lied, a bead of sweat trickling down his hairline.

"Good," she replied with enthusiasm. She then flipped to the next page and explained the photographs. "This is one of us, Fern, and our little boy, Breeze, vacationing in the Bahamas."

James stared at the picture. He couldn't believe how ugly the children looked. The little girl who looked to be about five, had Lily's red hair, but it was styled like James's, very messy. Her face didn't seem to line up either; James's facial features, but compacted into Lily's small face. Nothing was proportional at all. The little boy was the exact opposite. His hair was normal, but his face was a complete disaster. He had all of Lily's petite facial features, but was tacked onto James's larger head. Nothing matched at all. It was like watching a child's horror show.

"How did you say you did these?" he hesitantly asked.

"With the pictures of you and me from when we were kids. Then I found all the best features and fused them together with a potion… Fern and Breeze are so attractive, aren't they?" she answered.

"Breeze? I thought this was a boy," he stated.

"Breeze is a boy," Lily replied, her tone and face expression deadly.

"But isn't Breeze a girl's name?"

"No," she shouted, acting very outraged at the suggestion. "Breeze is my all time favorite name for a boy, and this is the name of our future son."

"Okay, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't know."

"Well, now you do," she snapped.

James looked at the album again, his stomach twisting a bit. He couldn't believe that these children were so hideous. He and Lily were both very attractive people, but these kids couldn't look any uglier. How could this happen?

Then again, he couldn't believe that Lily actually compiled photographs what their future children would look like. That was not only odd, but also completely insane. It just wasn't normal. Normal people did not picture future children after they'd been together for a mere six days.

And what about Fern and Breeze? What kind of names were those? If Lily wanted to do some sort of flower name for the girl, he could understand that. After all, it seemed to be some sort of family tradition, seeing as both Lily and her sister were named after flowers. But why Fern? Couldn't she be named something realistic, like Daisy or Rose? Something that at least sounded somewhat attractive to make up for the unsightliness of the girl. Then there was Breeze. That was not a man's name, James was convinced of that. And if it was, no son of his would ever be named that. It would be an embarrassment to the Potter name.

James had enough with this family album. "You know what, Lily; I think I've seen enough… I'd love the rest of our life together to be a surprise."

"James, you are so right," she squealed, glad that she didn't have to show him the rest. She was getting a little sick to her stomach just looking at the children, not o mention the fact that it was her and James together, married.

James took the book from Lily's arms and slammed it shut before tossing it on the ground. He yawned and slyly put his arm around Lily; doing the classic guy move. He knew it was cheesy, but he didn't care. To be completely honest, James figured that if he had to put up with Lily for another four days, he might as well make the best of the situation. The physical part of their relationship, in his mind, was definitely making the best of the situation.

Lily loudly giggled once she realized what he was doing, but allowed him to guide her down toward the bed. They both laid there for a moment, just resting on top of the blankets. With them both silent, it almost felt nice to be with each other. Lily could almost forget about James's hexing. James could almost forget about Lily's obnoxious antics.

The key word, however, was almost. It almost felt nice to be with each other. They could both almost forget. Yet, they couldn't quite forget everything. Lily knew she had the task of driving him away and her heart was set on doing so.

"James," Lily began. "Tell me why you love me."

James didn't say anything. He didn't love her, at least not anymore. Staring into her emerald eyes, he knew it would be hard to lie to her. Instead, he thought of all the reasons why he used to love her. "You're smart, beautiful, nice, and fun to be around."

"Anything else?" she asked, a fake smile plastered across her face.

James racked his brain, trying to think of something else to say. Before the insane Lily came along, James knew he loved Lily, but he wasn't sure why. Yes, she was everything that he just mentioned, but there was more to it. There was something else about Lily Evans that drove him crazy for her, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Was it her charm? Or that she had an unattainable quality about her? He wasn't sure.

"Um, well," he stuttered before the most obvious thing came to mind. "You're very easy to talk to. I love it when we have those times, like the other day before the Quidditch game and that first day we started dating, when he accidentally missed Transfiguration. That was nice, I liked that."

Lily smiled, knowing that his answer was sincere. Truth be told, she loved it when they talked too. She found herself confessing secrets to him, things she couldn't even tell her two best friends.

Yet, the fact that she could talk to him about nearly anything didn't excuse his personal affairs that disgusted her. She couldn't let herself be with someone who stood for exactly what she was fighting against. And as long he intended on hexing other students, she couldn't be with him.

Before Lily could open her mouth to say anything else, she felt James's warm lips on hers. He gently kissed her and ran his hands up and down her back. Her heart sped up; this was definitely one thing that she would miss once James finally came to his senses and broke up with her, again.

Once again, however, Lily knew she had to stop this. She couldn't let her selfish physical pleasures get in the way of the carefully masterminded plan. She needed to get away from James. She couldn't allow herself to start to harvest feelings for him again; it was wrong.

"Stop," she moaned, pulling apart from him.

"Lily, I know what you said yesterday, and I promise I won't let this go any further," he promised, wanting nothing more than to kiss the beautiful redhead in front of him.

Lily hadn't even thought of that. She did tell him she didn't trust herself around him, which was completely true. Now, however, that wasn't what was on her mind. She needed anything physical between them to stop, she couldn't let James get any pleasure out of dating her. She needed him to be miserable.

"It's not that," she muttered.

"What is it?" he asked, propping himself up on one elbow.

"It's just that, well, well," she began darting her eyes around the room, hoping for inspiration. She saw the open bathroom door; she could lie and say she needed to use the toilet, but knew that was no use. She'd have to come out eventually and would be expected to resume this position.

Next, her emerald eyes stopped on Sirius's bed. No, that was no help to her. What could she say, 'oh James, I can't because I'm in love with Sirius.' No, that excuse wouldn't work, not at all. She looked at the teddy bears at the foot of James's bed. She could say she didn't want to do anything in front of the stuffed animals, act as if they were alive or something. He would definitely see her as insane. Then again, he would probably suggest moving the teddy bears, which would lead her right back to where she was.

Finally, her eyes landed on the flutterby bush she had given him a couple days ago. It wasn't shaking at all and its leaves were wilted and brown. Her eyes lit up; she had the perfect excuse.

"James," she hysterically said, getting off the bed and walking over to the flutterby bush. She grabbed the plant in one hand and waved it in front of James's face. "Our love bush; you let it die!"

His smile dropped, his face was like stone. Shit. Of all the dumb things to do. How could he let the stupid bush die? Especially after Lily went on and one about how it needed gentle love and care? How could he be so stupid?

James bit his lower lip and ordered himself to think. He needed something to say; anything at all. Nothing could be worse than the silence in the room; the disappointed look on Lily's face. "It's not dead, it's just sleeping," he finally blurted out, knowing ti was the dumbest excuse in the entire world.

"Sleeping?" she yelled in outrage.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"For what? Letting it die or lying to me?" she asked, her eyebrows knitted close together to show her anger.

"Both."

"Are you going to let us die to?" Lily questioned, her eyes were piercing into his flesh.

"No, not at all."

"James, I slaved for hours and hours over our family photo album and you can't even keep a stupid bush alive!" she shouted.

"Lily, listen, I'm sorry," he replied. "I'll buy a new one."

"No, James, you can't just buy a new one when things go wrong," she told him. "You let it die, just like you're letting our love die… I told you that with the proper love and care, the bush would strive, just like our love. Without tender love and care, our love will die. Do you want our love to die?"

"No, not at all," he lied. "I'm sorry, I really am… Please forgive me."

She stared at him for a moment before forcing tears to come to her eyes. She looked at him and sobbed, "Sometimes I think you don't put any effort into our relationship… It's always me that does everything."

James sighed, but put an arm around Lily, holding her tightly to his chest. It seemed like everyday she was crying about something involving their relationship. Quite frankly, he was sick of hearing that he didn't do enough for their relationship. Yet, this was the sixth day out of ten. He only had to last four more days until he won his money, then he would be home free. He would be able to finally break up with Lily and forget about all this relationship nonsense she was always bringing up.

"Lily, please don't cry, I'm sorry," he said in a very flat voice. He said it so often that he felt he should have gotten a tape recording of the phrase.

"It's true though," she sobbed. "I'm the one who made the album, I'm the one that made your room beautiful, and I'm the one that asked you out… You haven't done anything except for kill out love bush. You didn't even thank me for the room décor or the album."

"Lily, please, I'm sorry. The room looks great, I love it. And the family album, is well, it's certainly very interesting… Thank you for both of them," he gulped out.

"Do you mean it?" she asked, unburying her face from his chest and looking into his eyes.

"Of course," he lied, glancing at the pink curtains surrounding his bed.

"Are you going to start paying more attention to our relationship?"

"Yes."

"Are you actually going to work at us a little?"

"Yes."

Lily wiped away all of her fake tears and smiled up at him. She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, Jamesie-wamesie, I just love you so much."

He nearly fell over from the impact of Lily's jump. Once he regained his balance, he gently tapped Lily's back. "I, uh, I love you too," he said through gritted teeth.

"James, I can just tell, you and I are going to have a magical future together," she said, releasing him from her death grip.

"Um yeah."

"I really can't wait until we have little Fern and little Breeze running around our house," she told him, watching as his expression turned sour.

"Lily, just out of curiosity, when did you start thinking about all this?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know… Remember when we were walking back from the Head's room to Gryffindor?"

"Yeah," he answered, recalling the peaceful silence that passed between them that night.

"It was then… I was looking at you and thought, wow, our future children are going to be beautiful," she lied. "I could just tell, from day one that we were going to mix perfectly."

James stared at her, counting down the hours until this disaster would finally be over.

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**Author's Note 2: **Hey all, thanks for reading chapter ten! I know all of you want them to get together now, but it's only day six and this story needs to last through day ten! I promise it'll be soon, I've got it all planned out! Also, please, please, please review! Whenever I get an email saying that I received a new review, I feel reenergized to write!


	11. Day Seven: Lost Opportunities?

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to dancechic12345, TheRealTashMaybe, CrazzyD', JPx3LE, pyscho-pyro-shrink, JeminaDOTM5, Untamed Loner, Prongsmate, onesmartgoalie, dothatfunkydancenow, hoolihoopgrl131, Kel, LUVSRW, laurahonest, Miss Myrtle360, rayolis, Aria Sparks, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, thehalfbloodprincess, Avalon Star, and lizziee for reviewing! As you can tell by the quick update, your reviews helped a ton!

* * *

"I swear to God, this girl is completely off her rocker," James complained as he stuffed a large piece of bacon on his mouth.

"What'd she do now?" Remus asked, an amused smile on his face. Despite the fact that James was one of his best friends, Remus was delighted by the situation. For years James denied his infatuation with Lily, until the truth finally came out to the fellow Marauders. Now, his dream girl was driving him mad; which proved to be a hilarious sight.

"She made a photo album of our future children," he replied, still in disbelief from the previous night.

"Is she on something?" Peter questioned.

"I certainly hope so," James muttered, taking another large bite of his breakfast. "I swear, if I see her this morning, before class, I'm going to use the killing curse on myself."

"Only a few more days," Peter reminded the Marauder that he most looked up to.

"Yeah, that's true," James said. "And then, my dear Padfoot, you owe me fifty galleons."

"We'll see," Sirius commented. "I'm not so sure you can last until day ten. Today is day seven and you're claiming suicide thoughts already."

"Oh shove it, I can handle it… Besides, I'm sure that I've been through the worst of it," James replied. "Oh, and did I mention the names she picked for our two future children?"

"No."

"Fern and Breeze," James said, giving his friends a look of bewilderment. "And, just so you all don't make the same mistake I did, Breeze is a boy."

"Fern and Breeze?" Remus asked.

"Fern and Breeze," James answered.

"What the fuck kind of names are those?" Sirius asked.

"I have no clue, but I sure hope that she was smoking something when she picked those out," James informed the group.

"Now that would certainly be a sight," Peter laughed, imagining the Head Girl doing anything illegal.

James sighed and laughed as well. "It certainly would."

"Seriously though, was she kidding about those names?" Sirius asked, still hung up on the absurdity of the names.

"No, she was dead serious. When I made the mistake of saying Breeze was a girl's name, she nearly cried she was so angry at me," James responded.

"Wow, that girl has got some severe issues," Peter commented.

"You can say that again," James groaned.

"Hey, you three, I'd shut up if I were you," Remus snapped. "She just walked into the Great Hall."

"Is she coming this way?" James asked, not daring to turn his head to look back.

"I think so," Remus answered. "Sorry mate."

"Good morning, Sweetheart," Lily said as she walked over to the Marauder's section of the Gryffindor table. She planted a kiss on James's cheek, making him turn bright red in front of all his friends.

"Morning," he mumbled before gulping down his entire cup of juice.

"I brought you a little present," she said in a sing-a-long type of voice.

"Another present?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he spoke. He hated receiving presents from Lily; just look where the last one she gave him ended up leading him. The love bush, which he magically revived last night, was not a good present at all. He could only imagine what this one was; he was dreading it already.

"I spent all night making it," she told him.

"Really?" he stated, thinking that the worst has come. Last time she 'made' something, he ended up looking at a very hideous family album.

"Here you are," she exclaimed, pulling out a blue shirt that read, "I'm with her" on the front and had a large arrow pointing to the left.

James's eye widened. Why was he so unlucky? Why couldn't he have a normal girlfriend who didn't make him an absurd t-shirt with an immature label on it?

"What do you think?" she squealed, clapping her hands together as she spoke.

James's eyes were fixed on it. It took a few moments for him to regain his ability to speak before he finally mustered out, "It's very well made."

Lily ignored his dodgy answer and exclaimed, "I'm so glad you like it! But I've got even more exciting news, guess what it is?"

"What?" he inquired, almost too afraid to ask.

Lily beamed at him as she untied her cloak, revealing a pink t-shirt to match James's new shirt. It read, "I'm with him" on the front and contained a large arrow pointing to the right. James couldn't believe his eyes; they had matching his and hers t-shirts.

He sighed, not believing his unfortunate luck. He'd judged his situation too soon before; now he was truly unlucky.

"Aren't they great?" she excitedly asked.

James was speechless, but Sirius spoke up and said, "I personally love them."

Lily looked over at James's best friend and replied, "I'm so glad you do! I wasn't sure if they were going to be a little cheesy, being in the typical boy and girl colors, but if you like them, they must be great."

"I agree with Sirius," Remus commented. "And I adore the colors; they just make the logo jump out even more."

"Oh, you are both so sweet," Lily announced before turning her attention to James. "Do you like them, Sweetie?"

"I, I love them," he lied, still gawking at the matching shirts.

"Put it on," she urged, her eyes dancing as she spoke. If this didn't drive him away, she wasn't sure what would.

"I don't know, I'm already dressed," James replied.

"So, put it on," she said, sounding a little irritated.

"No, really, I don't have time," he insisted.

"Oh, come on, James, it's just a simple wardrobe adjustment," Sirius said, giving his best friend an amused smile.

"Yeah," Lily agreed. "Besides, we need to see if it fits okay."

James took the shirt out of Lily's hands and held it to his chest, "It looks like it'll fit just perfectly."

"No, James, you need to try it on," she responded, a stern look upon her face.

"Yeah, just put the shirt on," Remus added. "Besides, your lovely girlfriend put hours into making it."

James shot Remus a dirty look before finally throwing the shirt over his clothes. He grumbled while he did it, obviously unhappy about his current situation. Once the shirt was on, however, everyone sitting at the section of the table had a pleased look on their faces. Little did James know, but they all thought he looked as ridiculous as he felt. Of course, James assumed that his three best friends were thinking that, but from the look on Lily's face, he guessed that she was truly pleased with the matching shirt.

"I love it!" Lily squealed, hugging him as she spoke.

James clenched his teeth together, hoping that the action might evolve into something that resembled a smile. He felt like an idiot.

"Don't you two look adorable," Sirius commented. "I wish I had my camera with me."

"I've got mine, if you wouldn't mind snapping a picture," Lily announced, pulling her camera out of her bag and passing it to Sirius.

"Excellent," Sirius replied, focusing the camera on the couple sitting across from him. Lily had her arms flung around James's neck, pulling him close to her. She was leaning forward slightly and placed a large kiss on his cheek. However, Lily was careful too, and made sure that both of their shirts were visible for the photograph.

Once the clicking noise was heard, Lily released James from her grip and said, "James, I just love these shirts so much."

"Um, yeah, they're great," he nervously replied.

"You two just look like a matching little family," Remus commented. "And, I can only hope that once little Fern and little Breeze are born, they can have matching shirts that say 'I'm with them' and have arrows pointing up at you two."

Lily's jaw dropped before she said, "Remus Lupin, you are a genius. That would be the cutest thing in the entire world! Don't you think that's a great idea, James?"

"Excellent," he sarcastically answered. He wondered if he could take the shirt off yet, but didn't dare to ask. With his luck, Lily would probably make a scene in the middle of the Great Hall and correctly accuse him of hating the shirts.

"So, James told you all about our future children," Lily stated, trying to make conversation with the Marauders.

"He certainly did," Peter said, piping up and joining the discussion.

"I think it sounds like a fantastic family," Sirius added.

"Why thank you," Lily replied, a pleased look in her face. "I have made some changes though. I was thinking last night, I'd love to have even more children. So, I decided that we'll name one of them James, after the daddy here."

"That's so sweet," Remus said, giving James a smile that made James raise his middle finger under the table.

"So, you want two boys and one girl," Peter commented.

"Oh no, I want two girls and one boy," Lily corrected.

"So, is Breeze going to be a girl's name then?" Remus questioned.

"No, Breeze will be our son's name," Lily stated. "I only want to use James for a girl's name."

"What?" James asked, finally speaking up.

"Yeah, it's so boring if it's used for men, no offense," she lied. "I love unusual names for children, so it only works for a girl… That's not a problem, is it?" She lingered on the last few words of her small speech, hoping it would set him off.

"No," he answered, gritting his teeth and smiling.

"Good," she replied before buttering a piece of toast.

A few minutes later, the swarm of owls flew into the Great Hall, all carrying letters and newspapers. Lily was delighted to see her snowy white owl fly in and drop a letter in front of her. She ripped it open and grinned; it was better than she expected.

"Who'd you get a letter from?" James asked, still munching on his breakfast.

"Your mother," she casually responded before asking, "Do you have a quill, ink, and parchment I can borrow? I need to send a letter back."

"My mum? She's still writing you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.

"Well, yes," she replied. "Last night I sent her the photos I made and we agreed to continue on a correspondence… You know, you never told me that you were afraid of the dark until you were ten."

James felt his face flush again. Why was she talking with his mum? She was his mum, not Lily's. This was crossing the borderline and he wasn't pleased at all. Plus, Lily would be getting information like this on a regular basis now. That had to be stopped.

"She's lying," he quickly remarked.

"No, I don't think so," Lily replied, a smile playing at her lips.

"You know, I'm not sure it's a good idea that you continue talking with my mum," James said, taking a chance and confronting Lily about the issue.

"Why not?"

"I don't know, it's just that, well, I don't feel comfortable with it," he answered.

"Do you not trust me?" she asked, forcing herself to cry once again.

"No, wait, please, don't cry," he quickly said before even more tears made their way down Lily's cheeks. "Ignore what I just said, I don't mind you talking with her."

"No, you do care," Lily sobbed.

"I really don't… I didn't realize how important it was for you, so be my guest, talk with her all you want," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he lied, but it was a better option than Lily making another large scene. He sighed, hoping that day seven wouldn't continue being such a rotten day.

---

"You're doing it wrong," Lily mumbled, looking up from her homework. She and James were both seated in front of the fireplace in Gryffindor common room and doing their homework. Earlier, Lily had insisted that they be with each other every waking hour that night, so she wouldn't "miss a second of his loveliness," as she so elegantly put it. To escape anything weird that might occur, James suggested they do their homework.

"Are you talking to me?" he questioned.

"Yes, you're doing it wrong," she answered.

"No I'm not," he replied, waving his wand in front of the toad to his right. The Charms assignment for that night was to practice moving living objects, such as people and animals, in a way very similar to Wingardium Leviousa. To start the charm, Professor Flitwick gave them all a toad to practice on, just in case any explosions occurred.

"Yes, you are," she instantly stated. "It's your wrist movement, it's too sharp."

"My wrist movement is fine," he snapped.

"No need to get all upset about it," Lily replied, rolling her eyes as she spoke. That was a typical James Potter move; he hated being corrected.

"I'm not getting upset about it," he huffed, his grip on his wand becoming very tight.

"Oh really?" she snapped. "Is that why it would probably take an entire army to get that wand out of your hand then?"

"Shut up," he grumbled, noticing his tightened hand and releasing his grasp.

"Why don't you just try letting your wand flow a bit more," she suggested.

"No, that's not how you do it," he snapped.

"It's not?" she retorted. Lily then took out her own wand and pointed it at the toad. Allowing her wrist to gently flow from side to side, she said the magic words and the toad immediately shot into the air. She pointed her wand to the right, sending the toad in that direction.

"Lucky try," James muttered.

"You just hate the fact that I'm right and you're wrong," she argued, gently placing the toad back on the ground.

"That's not true," he fought back.

"It's not?" she asked, raising one eyebrow as she spoke.

James ignored her comment and pointed his wand at the toad. This time, he took Lily's advice concerning his wrist movements. Just as Lily had told him, the toad immediately went flying into the air. James glanced over at the red-haired girl, she had a genuine smile across her face.

"That was just lucky," he stammered.

"Luck's got nothing to do with it," she retorted. "Face it James, I helped you out on that one, despite the fact that you'd rather die than admit it."

"Rather die than admit it?" he questioned. "Is that what you think of me?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's not true."

"Yes it is; you hate it when anyone other than yourself is right about something," she countered, an amused look upon her face. "It's completely natural; men are bigheaded and think that just because they are men, women can't be, in any way, superior."

"What? I don't think that at all," he stated. "I think you are a much better witch than a lot of people."

"But compared to you?" she pressed on.

"I, I think we are both equal," he carefully answered.

"Bullshit," Lily said, a slight laugh coming out with her words.

"What was that?" he asked, a smile now playing at the corners of his lips.

"I said bullshit," she repeated.

James grinned at her, but wondered if what she said was true. Did he really see himself as a superior wizard than others? True, he did know that he was top of the class, yet Lily was also top of the class. "There are some things that you are better at, there are other things that I'm better at," he carefully informed her.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Well, you are certainly better at Charms, and I'm better at Transfiguration," he answered.

"And I'm better at taking notes, whereas you're good at hexing people," she added, not being able to control herself. She was still very spiteful about the information that Rina had dropped on her yesterday. Lily still couldn't believe that James lied to her about hexing people.

"I resent that," he informed her. "I do take notes in class, sometimes… And other than a few days ago, when Snivellus really deserved it, I haven't hexed anyone since last March."

Lily stared at him, her brows knit together in confusion. "Don't lie to me, I know you still hex people."

"Lily, I honestly don't," he relied. "I've been pretty good."

"I'm not going to be mad, just tell the truth," she insisted.

James crossed his arms and looked at her with curiosity. "Okay, fine. I'll admit it, last May I did hex Snivellus again, but it was only because he was being an absolute asshole to some third year in Gryffindor."

"Are you serious?" she asked, her heart sinking as she was putting clues together. Did Rina truly lie to her?

"Well, yeah, but I had to stick up for the girl. Snape was tormenting her for being a muggleborn and it was making me so angry," James replied, thinking that she was getting mad at him for hexing Snape.

"No, no, no, that's fine… It's kind of sweet of you," Lily said. "I mean, I guess I see now why Dumbledore made you Head Boy in the first place."

"Really?"

"Well, yes. I mean, you're very respected by most students, you don't take any shit from anyone, and you certainly know the difference between right and wrong now," she replied.

James smiled, glad that the Head Girl finally found him worthy of his Head Boy position. Additionally, James felt his heart leap slightly. Lily was being her normal self here, the one he grew to love and adore. He cherished these moments.

Still persistent, Lily asked one final time, "Are you sure you haven't hexed anyone in the past few days?"

"I swear on my life," he answered, his eyes showing her how sincere he was being.

Lily was still very shocked to learn this new information. James hadn't lied to her at all; Rina did. She tried to think of why Rina might come up with some bullshit lie, but couldn't come up with any logical reasons. This was absurd.

Lily tried to imagine yesterday's conversation in her mind, hoping that she might be able to gather clues as to why Rina would lie to her. She tried to think, but nothing remarkable came to her mind. Suddenly, she remembered that she had just announced to Rina and Tracey that she thought might have been falling for James. Could that have sparked the lie? Did Rina not want Lily to like James?

It was the only reasonable excuse for Rina's behavior. She must not want Lily and James to be together. Lily tried to think of why that might be. Perhaps Rina secretly hated James as much as Sam and Kelsey. Maybe she was only trying to look out for Lily; make her see that James was wrong for her.

That was the best solution Lily could think of, or at least chose to think of. The thought that Rina might like James never entered her mind, probably by choice. So, Lily was stuck on the idea that Rina was only looking out for what she viewed as Lily's own interest.

"How much homework do you have left?" James suddenly asked, focusing Lily back onto reality.

"Um, I don't know… I think I only have to write that short essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Lily answered, scrambling through her books as she spoke.

James looked at her for a second, wondering if he should ask what he intended on asking. In the end, he determined that he might as well. After all, he and Lily were enjoying themselves tonight. "Do you want to go down to the Quidditch Pitch with me?"

"I don't know," Lily slowly began.

"I understand," James replied, cutting her off as she spoke.

"No, no, it's just that, well, I don't really know how to play Quidditch… I've seen practically all the matches, but I'm really no good at it," she honestly told him.

"I could teach you," he offered.

"I don't even have a broom," Lily replied.

"You could borrow one of mine, I've got at least five hanging around my room," he said.

Lily looked down at her homework for a moment, contemplating whether it was a good idea or not. Finally, she looked up at the messy haired boy in front of him and saw a look that made her heart melt. She could see in his hazel eyes that he desperately wanted her to accompany him to the Quidditch Pitch; it almost appeared to be a look of longing.

She knew that according to her plan to drive him away, this would not be a good idea. Yet, he looked so irresistible at that moment, she found it hard to say no to him. Going against her better judgment, Lily shut her books and said, "Okay, let's go."

James grinned at her and shoved all his books into his book-bag. "I'll be right back," he told her before jumping up from his seat and running up the boys staircase to retrieve two brooms.

As Lily watched him go, he smiled to herself. This wouldn't be so bad, right? Just because she learned that he didn't hex anyone anymore didn't mean that she was going to start to fall for him again. Besides, that ship had already sailed, just became they were going to spend the night flying across the sky together, it didn't mean she would start to like him again. She could have what many would consider to be a fun evening with James Potter and not like him.

Besides, Lily reminded herself that she could drive him away. Everything was going to work out alright in the end. She racked her brain, trying to think of repulsive actions she could do to him while on the field. She could purposely hit him with the ball, or better yet, accidentally lose one of the precious balls.

She shrugged her shoulders and decided to let the evening go by on its own accord; she'd think of something that would drive him away while being outside, she always did.

Soon enough, James retuned with two brooms in his hands and the young couple made their way down to the Quidditch Pitch. It was a rather long walk, especially on the chilly September night. Lily offered to carry her own broom, but James refused her offer, and decided to carry both broom in one arm.

Finally, they reached the fields, which were empty. It was a good thing they were empty too, because James hadn't mastered the Quidditch Pitch schedule quite yet. He was only aware of the days reserved for the Gryffindor Quidditch team to practice.

"You know how to fly a broom, right?" James asked, giving her a questioning look.

"I'm not daft," she replied, scooping up one of the brooms from the grassy fields.

"Just checking," he said, throwing his hands up to show he meant no harm. "Do you understand the rules?"

"James, I've seen almost every game since first year, of course I understand the rules," Lily informed him. "The only problem is that I've never actually played it."

James sighed and grabbed the large quaffle ball out of its case. "In that case, we'll just play with this one."

"Sounds good to me," she replied, straddling her broom and flying up into the air.

Smiling, James grabbed his broom and flew up to meet her. They weren't very high off the ground, only about two stories high. James fluttered near Lily, hovering so close he could have reached out and touched her arm if he wanted.

"So, what do we do first?" she asked.

"Um, well, there are two options to a two person game. One of us could go near the hoops while the other person practiced scoring, or we could both go for the ball and try our best to play the positions of both Keeper and Chaser," James answered.

"I think I like the second option," she replied.

"Are you sure you're up for the challenge, you've never played before," he stated.

"I think I can manage," Lily said before wittily saying, "Unless of you're not up for the challenge."

James grinned at her, loving the friendly competition between them. "Oh, I'm up for it." He passed the ball to her, which she easily caught. "Ladies first."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. She took the ball and flew across the fields, hoping to reach the goal before he realized her intentions.

Unfortunately, James wasn't as stupid as she hoped. Once he saw her dart away, he instantly flew behind her, trying to catch up. It wasn't difficult for him at all; after all, he had his newest broom, whereas she was stuck using his from fifth year.

"You're a cheat," he yelled as he came up beside her.

Lily looked to her right and grinned at him. "You never said we weren't starting yet," she hollered back.

"True," he said, "But you're still a little cheat."

Lily only laughed at that, continuing to fly toward the three hoops that stood a mere thirty feet in front of her. James knew he had no other choice than to try and block her attempt to throw the quaffle, so he speedily made his way in front of the hoops. He watched as she heaved the ball in his direction, but it didn't come close to the hoops. It began to drop to the ground instead.

Both Lily and James looked at each other for a moment before darting down to the ground, hoping to reach it before it hit the grass. James, being much quicker than Lily, easily picked it up with one hand and switched directions, flying across the pitch. Lily sighed, but turned her broom around as well.

For a moment, James was ahead of Lily, and he could have easily made a shot without her presence in the goal area. Realizing how unfair that would be, however, he purposely slowed down. He watched as she sped passed him and felt his heart glow. She looked like she was having so much fun.

Once she was a good twenty feet ahead of him, James picked his pace up again. He zoomed over to the three hoops, holding the quaffle high above his head with one arm. He chucked it at the center hoop, which Lily was hovering in front of.

Just as he expected, Lily dodged toward it, but couldn't stop it from entering the center ring. Observing her, James decided it wasn't that bad a block from someone who never played Quidditch in her life before.

James didn't have too much time to observe her, however. He looked over and saw her darting for the ball. He quickly flew over toward her, hoping to catch it before she did. He had no such luck with that task however, as Lily picked up the ball and flew across the Quidditch Pitch.

"You're not a bad flyer," he informed her, coming up next to her.

"Thanks," she sweetly said. "But don't think you're compliments will make me hand over this ball."

"I wouldn't even dream of thinking that," he bantered before speeding off in front of her. He knew he didn't want to play and dirty aspects of Quidditch with her, ones that might include knocking her off her broom. Instead, he allowed her to fly toward the goal again, deciding he should stick to blocking it.

James watched as Lily wound up to throw the ball again, but before she could finish her task, he yelled, "You're too far away; it's never going to get in."

"You make shots from further back than here," she shouted, dropping her arms to her sides.

"Yes, but I also have a little bit more arm muscle than you," he answered. It wasn't in a competitive way, the manner in which he usually talked to anyone about Quidditch. Instead, it was truthful, as if he were looking out for her own good.

Taking his advice, Lily flew closer to the goal and asked, "Is this better?"

"A little closer," he called out.

She flew closer again, but this time sarcastically said, "James Potter, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're making me come closer so your job as a Keeper is easier."

James showed mock outrage, but said, "Not at all."

Lily laughed, but threw the ball with all her might anyways. Just as they both expected, James easily blocker her attempt to score a goal. Lily slightly frowned, but didn't care at all. It didn't matter that she was losing one to zero; she was having a delightful time.

Once again, James and Lily both raced toward the other end of the Quidditch Pitch. Just like last time, James allowed Lily to get a head start, making it so she was at the goal before he could make a shot; it was only fair for it to work that way. He wound his arm up and aimed toward the hoop on the left, the one that Lily was hovering in front of. James let it go tumbling out of his grip, zooming across the field.

Then, something neither of them expected occurred. Lily went chasing after the quaffle, her arms outstretched. She felt the hard, large ball plummet into her arms. She caught the ball.

With the quaffle still in her arms, she raced toward James, a beaming smile plastered across her face. "I caught it!" she shouted, repeating it over and over again.

She smiled back at her, moving his broom so that they were within arm's reach again. "That was amazing," he informed her.

"Did you let me catch that on purpose?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in on him.

"I wish I could say yes, but nope, you caught it all on your own," he honestly replied.

"Are you bloody serious?"

"I am," he answered.

With the ball still in her arms, Lily flung herself forward and hugged him. It was one of the first times that she didn't feel James stiffen beneath her very forward emotion. Instead, he welcomed her into his arms, as if she belonged there.

"I can't believe I caught it," she exclaimed, breaking apart from him.

"I know, with a bit more practice, you'd make a pretty decent Keeper," he informed her.

"Shut up," she replied, a blush coming to her cheeks.

"I'm serious," James said.

"It's not like it was even a god save," Lily remarked.

"Not a good save? That was a great save," he commented, only half-lying. True, it wasn't a brilliant save, like many of the saves the current Gryffindor Keeper could make, but it was a decent save.

"You're very sweet," Lily replied, flashing him another one of her award winning smiles.

"What can I say?" he jokingly remarked, moving his broom even closer to hers.

Lily looked directly into his hazel eyes, her own emerald orbs shining with life and energy. She felt her heart beat increase its speed; it was a truly magical moment.

They didn't need words to direct their next movements; they just knew what to do next. Lily and James both drifted toward the empty grounds below them, fluttering down until they could feel the soft grass beneath their shoes. Lily let the quaffle drop, sending it rolling across the field. Their brooms dropped too, neither of them caring where the objects landed.

James placed one of his rough, Quidditch worn hands on the side of her face, pulling her closer to him. Lily could feel his breath against her lips and her stomach flopped nervously around.

In an instant, James's lips covered Lily's, and they were both left in a gentle embrace. The kiss was tender, neither of them being too forceful. James's hands slid behind Lily's back, supporting her as they stood. In return, Lily lifted her hands until they hung loosely around James's neck, making sure that his lips wouldn't leave her.

For the first time in their relationship, Lily's mind was concentrated on losing James. There wasn't a voice nagging her, forcing her to pull away from him. This time, the kiss was simply for James. Just as his kiss was simply for Lily. Neither of them had a care in world, only focusing on each other.

They broke apart for a moment, allowing ample time to regain their breaths. James rested his forehead against Lily's and stared into her beautiful green eyes. He loved the way they danced in the moonlight, as if to tell him that their kiss was the only important matter occurring in the world.

Unfortunately, their precious time came to an end when they heard a dog bark. They both jumped backward, snapping their hands to their sides and providing space in-between them.

"Hello, James, Lily," the groundkeeper, Hagrid said, flashing them both a beefy smile. He was a very large man, probably twice the height of James and four times as round. "Not disturbing anything, am I?"

"No, not at all," Lily shrieked, she could feel the heat rising to her face. "I'm just going to go grab the quaffle." With that said, she darted away from the two men and stumbled around the field in search for the dropped ball.

"Hi Hagrid," James said as he picked up the two brooms. "I was just teaching her how to play Quidditch."

"Really?" Hagrid asked, a doubtful look on his face.

"Yes," James insisted.

"Last time I checked, Quidditch was played in the air."

James shot his friend a dirty look, but said, "We were just finishing up, that's all."

"I see," Hagrid replied, a smile forming at his lips. "I see you and Lily Evans are finally together then."

"Yeah, for about a week," James answered. "She's something else."

"Well, I'm glad… I don't know her too well, just a little bit. But I do know that you've been going on about her for quite some time now," Hagrid remarked.

James smiled up at his half-giant friend, but Lily came back before he had time to make a response. "Well, it was nice to see you Hagrid, but I'm afraid we've got to head back to the castle. We've only got ten minutes until we're supposed to be in our dorms."

"Good night," Hagrid called, pulling his large dog closely to his side.

---

Later that night, Lily was still smiling as she walked into her dorm room. She completely ignored the questioning looks from Sam and Kelsey, who were both laying on their beds working on homework.

"What's up?" Sam asked, studying Lily as she flopped down onto her bed.

"Nothing."

"Were you just with James?" Kelsey questioned.

"Yes."

"What'd you guys do?" Kelsey asked.

"We played Quidditch."

"Did you do anything to annoy the shit out of him?" Sam asked.

Lily was suddenly snapped back into reality at that last question. She didn't do anything at all to annoy James. What was she thinking? Did she really miss out on the perfect opportunity?

Then a second thought entered her mind; did she really miss an opportunity? Did she actually want to drive James away anymore? She had such a lovely time that evening, as she did during many other evenings with him. He really wasn't such a bad guy after all, and he didn't hex anyone anymore.

"Earth to Lily," Sam said, waving her hands in front of Lily's face. "Did you do anything to drive him away?"

Lily took a deep breath, not sure what she should do. Should she tell her friends the truth? Should she tell them that she was experiencing a change in heart towards James Potter? "Um, yeah, it was great." No, the answer was no. She couldn't confess her true feelings; they wouldn't understand.

"Like what?" Kelsey asked.

"Um, I um, well, when he didn't let me win playing Quidditch, I cried," she lied, trying to think of something logical. "I swear, that's' probably been the millionth time I've cried in front of him… And he got this look on his face, as if he were really getting fed up with all my shit."

"That's it?" Sam asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

"No, of course that's not it," Lily nervously replied. "I, I, well, I kind of broke his broom." She prayed that her friends would believe her excuse, despite the fact that she stumbled when speaking.

"Are you kidding?" Kelsey asked, an excited look upon her face.

"Nope."

"Wow, he must have flipped a shit," Sam exclaimed. "He's obsessed with his precious brooms, I would have loved to see his face when you did it."

"Yeah, it was pretty awful… His entire face went red and then drained, turning very pale. I was actually kind of scared he might hex me or something," Lily lied.

"Wow, I've got to say, I didn't know you had it in you," Sam commented.

"Neither did I," Lily replied, her eyes darting away from her friends. She hated lying, but knew there was no other way.

After a few minutes went by, the three girls went back to doing their homework. However, Lily found it very hard to concentrate. Her mind kept fluttering back to her lies. She felt awful about them, and knew her friends would be crushed if they found out the truth. Yet, something was holding her back. Lily felt her stomach lurch just thinking about it. Her friends despised James and would never accept him as Lily's true boyfriend.

After nearly half an hour of not being able to concentrate, Lily finally asked, "Why do you guys hate James so much?"

Kelsey and Sam looked at each other for a moment, a look of bewilderment written across their faces. Sam then looked at Lily and said, "He's an asshole. He's mean, rude, obnoxious, full of himself, and couldn't be more arrogant if he tried."

"Do you ever think he could change?" Lily carefully asked, knowing that James did change.

"No, guys like James never change," Kelsey answered. "Sometimes they start to act nice, but in reality, it's just because they want in your pants."

"They couldn't ever change?" Lily questioned.

"No, they never do," Sam replied. "Not in a million years."

Lily sighed, but dropped the subject. She was certain that James did change. He wasn't anything like he used to be, not was it just an act. She could tell he was different; he changed for her. As much as Lily hated to admit it, she was falling for James Potter, hard.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Hey everyone! Thanks for reading chapter 11, now please review! I hope you're all satisfied with it, especially now that there was some good Lily and James scenes in there! Also, I know Sam and Kelsey are not being very supportive of Lily, but they are still under the opinion that Lily despises James. Anyways, please review, it makes the words come to me much faster!


	12. Day Eight: Magical Moments

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to onesmartgoalie, potterchik, JPx3LE, pyscho-pyro-shrink, iloveCedric, lovin potter, marrokinhas, hoolihoopgrl131, zuska1985, Aria Sparks, R, lizziee, lilydarling, sequin, thehalfbloodprincess, Miss Myrtle360, jessi, silly2, featherfinger, koolkatkt123, Avalon Star, puppyluva, rayolis, RubyBinds, and lillypad123 for reviewing! You are all amazing!

* * *

Lily lazily swirled her cereal around in her bowl as she rested her chin in her left hand. She was staring down at the cereal, but not in the way she usually does. She wasn't observing it, as if she were a scientist researching the food; instead, she was looking at it with dazed eyes. She couldn't concentrate on anything; she'd tried to pay attention to her friends talking, but found it impossible. Instead, Lily zoned out of the conversation and into her own world; one that was perfect.

Truth be told, she was thinking of James; a thought that she hadn't been able to get out of her mind since the previous night. Everywhere she looked, she imagined his smiling face and beautiful hazel eyes. She could clearly picture his laugh; strong and confident. Just thinking about the way he teased her brought a smile to her face.

"Lily, earth to Lily," Sam said, snapping her fingers in front of Lily's face.

"Huh?" she asked, focusing in on her two best friends.

"Do you have any plans with James tonight?" Sam questioned.

"Um, no, not yet," Lily answered.

"Well, don't let him off the hook," Kelsey warned her. "If you give a guy just one night of freedom, he'll start to think that you're not so bad."

"Um, right," Lily replied, hoping her voice sounded somewhat confident.

To Lily's dismay, her voice didn't convey the proper effect and Kelsey asked, "Lils, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded.

"Are you sure? You've been acting kind of spacey," Sam commented.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Lily replied, picking up her spoon and taking a bite of her soggy cereal. "Everything's great."

"If you say so," Sam muttered before going back to munching on a piece of toast.

Just then, the bell for class rang and the three girls grabbed their books and headed out of the Great Hall. They were among hundreds of students, all trying to get to class on time, so the halls were very crowded. Of course, they were quite used to that, as it happened everyday.

Usually, they didn't mind of they were a couple minutes late, seeing as the professors also had to battle their way out of the Great Hall. Today, however, they were supposed to begin their day with Transfiguration. Needless to say, Professor McGonagall was by far the strictest member of the faculty. She always arrived twenty minutes before class began and expected her students to be prompt as well. She even went as far as issuing detentions to students who had a habit of coming to class late.

Once the three girls arrived to class, they took their usual seats; Lily and Sam sat together at one table and Kelsey and a Hufflepuff girl named Sarah sat directly to their right. As Lily gathered her textbook, parchment, ink, and quill from her bag, she noticed the Marauders enter the classroom. The four boys were all laughing at something; Lily could only guess it had something to do with a prank.

She felt her stomach begin to flutter as James walked in her direction. Any other day, Lily would have shot daggers from her eyes, warning him not to sit anywhere within ten feet of her. Today, however, she looked up at him and smiled. Their eyes locked for a moment and Lily felt her breathing stop. His eyes were vivid with life, an aspect that made her heart speed up.

James flashed her a grin as he took a seat at the table directly in front of her, Sirius sitting down next to him. She watched as he slightly leaned back in his chair, making it stand on its two back legs. His fingers lightly held onto the table in front of him, just to support his balance.

Lily tried not to stare, but was failing miserably. Every time she attempted to refocus her gaze, her eyes always wandered back to him. As the light from the window shined in on him, he appeared to be magical, as if he was sent from the Heavens above. Her heart jumped, he looked so irresistible.

"Class, settle down," Professor McGonagall sternly said from behind her desk. Her lips were pursed together, her hair done in its tight bun, and her glasses made her eyes look tiny.

At her words, the entire class immediately hushed. James sat forward in his chair, knowing not to mess around in McGonagall's class, despite the fact that she adored her star student.

"Now, class, today we will begin transfiguring rats into horses," McGonagall informed her seventh year students. "The process, although very different from Animagi, is a large jumping stone between what we have previously been doing and becoming Animagi…. Now, if you will all open your textbooks to page ninety-two, you will see a detailed diagram of what you are supposed to do. I want you all to practice using the rats at your tables. I will walk around the classroom to see how you are all doing, and in about fifteen minutes I'll have someone demonstrate for the entire class to see."

With that said, the seventh year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students went to work. Lily opened up her book a studied the diagram for a moment, memorizing the wand movements.

However, she was distracted when she heard James mumble to Sirius, "This should be a piece of cake. I wish she'd give us something at least a little challenging."

Lily frowned for a moment; he was so full of himself sometimes. Yet, she couldn't see to get enough of him. It was his cockiness that showed confidence and power; two characteristics that she found irresistible in a man.

She sighed, now completely ignoring her textbook. Why was she doing this to herself? Why did she suddenly find James so attractive? Why was she suddenly so drawn to him?

She tried to find answers to her questions, but couldn't. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She wasn't supposed to fall for James Potter. She was supposed to drive him away, not start to like him.

Lily watched as James casually flicked his wand toward the white rat, which instantly turned into a valiant white horse. She smiled; it was as if he were her knight in shining armor and the horse his noble steed, just as she used to dream about when she was a child. Lily stared at him as he turned to Sirius and elbowed him in the side before pointing to his magnificent transfiguration job.

"Miss Evans," McGonagall snapped, forcing Lily out of her imaginary world and back into reality.

"Yes Professor?"

"Show me what you've got so far," McGonagall instructed.

Lily bit her lip and she could feel her heart race. Crap. She didn't know anything about the transfiguration assignment; she was too busy observing James. Her eyes darted to her textbook for a moment as she tried to mentally capture the wand movements and pronunciation of the spell.

"Eculeus mus muris," Lily said as she pointed her wand toward her own rat. She was almost afraid to look at what her wand created, but swallowed her dignity and opened her eyes to see the odd-looking creature. It was tall and had four sturdy legs, just as horses do. However, its face was very much the face of a rat, as was its tail.

"Miss Evans, I'm surprised, you usually get these ones right away," McGonagall said, her tone revealing her disappointment.

Lily scrunched her nose for a moment and frown appeared on her face. She hated disappointing teachers, almost as much as she hated disappointing herself. Lily let out a sigh, and then used her wand to re-transform the odd-looking creature back into a rat.

"You okay, Lily?" James asked, leaning back in his chair to talk with her.

Lily felt her entire face flush. Fuck. James saw her major mistake.

"Fine," she snapped.

Class carried on as it normally did; James was chosen to demonstrate the transfiguration spell to the entire class, which he did with excellence. After that, McGonagall went into a long lecture, telling the seventh year students everything that they would ever need to know about the spell.

Still, Lily found it extremely difficult to concentrate. She saw the words coming out of McGonagall's mouth, but couldn't keep her brain focused on what they actually meant. Instead, she was thinking about James, again. She couldn't get him out of her mind, despite how hard she was trying.

The real dilemma about the situation was concerning her plan to drive him away. Could she keep up with the act? Better yet, did she really want to keep up with the plan? Sure, it was fun to see him suffer. But at the same time, her heart was warming up to him and she felt bad about it. The times that she and James spent together, where she was being her normal self, were priceless. She adored every moment of it. In fact, looking back on it, Lily realized that she had more fun with James during their one game of Quidditch than she did in her entire life.

Lily was distracted from her thoughts concerning James when she felt Sam jab her in the side. She whipped her head toward her friend, only to find Sam pointing at a hovering sheet of parchment settled in front of Lily.

Narrowing her eyes, Lily took the paper in her hands. She recognized the handwriting at once; it was from James.

_Do you have any plans tonight? _

Lily bit her lower lip as she showed it to Sam, motioning that James had sent it. In return, Sam ripped a piece of parchment from her own notebook and scribbled a note. Basically, it read that she thought it would be a perfect opportunity to mess with James's mind.

Lily sighed, hating that her friends were so keen on her losing James. She wasn't sure if she could tell them the truth though. She couldn't tell that she was starting to develop feelings for James. Instead, she bottled up her feelings and grinned at Sam, as if to tell her she was thinking the same thing.

Lily then dipped her quill in her ink bottle and wrote a reply back to James, telling him she didn't have any plans at all. She watched as the ink disappeared before her eyes and knew that it reappeared in front of James.

A second later, another note from James arrived.

_Meet me in front of Gryffindor at 7:00 tonight. I know a great place that I know you'll love. And before you go jumping to conclusions, we won't be breaking any school rules by being there. _

She smiled as she wrote back to him, telling him that seven o'clock worked for her. She loved how he knew her so well. His addition about rule breaking made her heart swell up to ten times its normal size; he cared about her, she could tell.

---

Seven o'clock couldn't have come any sooner for Lily. Throughout the entire day, she hadn't seen James at all, apart from class, and still had no clues as to what they were doing that night. Her stomach flip-flopped as she stood outside the portrait hole that led to Gryffindor common room. She was antsy, although she wasn't quite sure why. She never felt nervous when she was with James; he had that appeal to him, one that made him feel like more than just a boyfriend, but a best friend too.

Once she saw his smiling face as he rounded the corner, all of her worries went away. She was with him now; safe within his watch.

"Care to join me?" he charmingly asked, extending his arm for her to grasp.

Lily only laughed, adoring what a goof ball he was at times. Yet, she took his outstretched arm anyways, allowing him to lead her to their destination.

"I hope you like it," James told her as they made their long journey to the seventh floor corridor.

"James, where are we going?" Lily hesitantly asked, absentmindedly looking around at the different portraits on the wall.

"It's a surprise," he replied, a sharp grin appearing on his face.

"I'm scared," she jokingly said.

"I'm hurt," he countered. "You don't trust me enough to pick out a nice place to have a date with my lovely girlfriend?"

"Honestly?" she teasingly asked. "Nope."

"Hey, I'm very hurt," he lightheartedly informed her, placing one of his hands across his heart. "I'll have you know I spent hours thinking about this."

"Hours?"

"Okay, well, maybe not hours," he sheepishly answered. "But all during my shower this morning and during Transfiguration."

"Oh, I got shower time," she teased, raising her eyebrows suggestively. She knew it was a lame shot at being funny, but couldn't help herself.

To her delight, James grinned at her and remarked, "Only a little."

Lily threw her head back and laughed. She adored the way that they were able to joke with each other, especially when it concerned humor that many others wouldn't find enjoyable.

"Seriously though, are we almost there?" she asked.

"We're here," he answered, coming to a halt.

Lily glanced around, but didn't see anything remotely interesting. To her left, there was a portrait of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet. To her right, there was nothing, just a solid wall.

"Um, James," she began. "I like spending time with you and all, but we're standing in the middle of a corridor."

"That's what you think," he told her with a grin. "Now, just stand there."

She did as she was told and skeptically watched as James strolled in front of the blank wall three times. "James, what are you doing?"

"You'll see," he answered as he finished his final walk.

Instantly a small door appeared on the formerly blank wall. James stepped forward and opened the door, taking Lily's hand to lead her inside.

Once inside, Lily's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. It was as if they were outside instead of in the dreary castle walls. She was amazed at what she was seeing; a roaring fire stood in the middle of the room. Surrounding it were log benches, making a perfect circle around the tall fire. The floor was made up of dirt, just like any campsite might have. Lily looked up, only to reveal a starry sky.

"James, this is amazing," she stated as she took a step into the room. She could feel the heat from the fire radiate onto her skin, making her feel warm inside.

"You really like it?" he asked.

"I love it," she answered, flashing him a giant smile.

"I wasn't sure if you would," he informed her. "I know a lot of girls hate being outside where they might get a little dirty."

"Since when have I been like most girls?" she teased.

"Never," he replied, taking her hand and leading her toward one of the log benches. They sat down next to each, despite the fact that there was room on all sides of the blazing fire.

"Question," she said.

"Shoot."

"Since when has Hogwarts had an outside room in it?" she curiously asked.

"It doesn't," he cheekily answered.

"James."

"I'm not lying," he replied. "This is called the Room of Requirement, but you can't tell anyone about it."

"I won't," Lily responded before asking, "How does it work?"

"It's really quite simple," James stated. "It can transform into anything the user needs it to be, but only if that person really craves it."

"Is that why you were walking around outside it?" she asked.

"Yeah, you need to walk past it three times and think really hard about what you need," James replied.

"This is so cool," she told him, her eyes widening as she spoke.

"I know," he agreed before grabbing a small bag from behind the log. "Now, I've heard about this muggle food called Mores, you want one?"

"Mores?" Lily asked, a bewildered look on her face.

"Yeah, Mores," James said. "My dad and I had them once when we went camping with a muggle friend of his. They're really good, probably the best muggle food in the entire world."

"James, I hate to break it to you, but there's no such thing as Mores," she laughed.

"I'm serious," he insisted. "You obviously just don't get out of your muggle house much."

She gave him a doubtful look, but asked, "What's in these Mores?"

"Well, you take a marshmallow and you put it on a stick and toast it over the fire," he explained, demonstrating while he spoke. "Then, once it's done, you put it on a graham cracker with bits of chocolate."

"You mean a S'more," Lily laughed. She loved it when pureblood wizards made stupid mistakes like that, it always brought a smile to her face.

"Are you sure?" he jokingly asked.

"Positive," she replied before adding, "Now hand over a marshmallow."

James did as he was told and passed Lily the bag of marshmallows and a large stick to roast it on. As he was passing the bag, his hand lightly touched hers and he felt a shiver run through his body. He immediately whipped his hand back, although looking back, he wasn't sure why. It wasn't the first time he had ever touched Lily's hand, nor would it have led to their first kiss. Yet, he still felt a shock run through his body just from lightly touching her smooth skin.

Acting as if nothing happened at all, Lily placed a marshmallow on her stick and let it toast over the fire's high flames. She slightly turned to face James and asked, "So, how did you discover this place?"

"The beginning of sixth year," he answered.

"I'm surprised," she began. "I thought you and the rest of your friends figured out all the secret spots to the castle way back in first year."

"All but this one," he joked, although it was completely true.

"How'd you come across it though?"

"Well, it was Halloween," James started. "So, of course, we needed to pull some sort of prank; it wouldn't be Halloween without one. We devised a plan to charm these fake, but very realistic looking, bats to fly around the castle and swoop down on anyone who wasn't enjoying Halloween. Naturally, it attacked Filch. But, to make it funny, we put in this orange goo stuff that will explode and scream bloody murder whenever it touches human flesh. So, not only did Filch have bats attacking him all night long, but he was drenched in the orange goo, which wouldn't stop screaming… It was pretty funny."

"Wait, that was you?" Lily asked, her eyes widening.

"Of course it was," he replied.

"That was bloody hilarious," she stated. "Although, I couldn't figure out why the bats were only attacking some people and not others."

"Well, now you know," he said.

"I guess so," she replied before saying, "Now, please, continue on with the story."

"Okay," he began. "To our brilliant luck, Filch saw Sirius and Peter wave their wands at one of the bats, making it grow vampire fangs, which meant he knew it was us. Of course, there was no way to prove that's what they were doing, but he's smart enough to figure out that they wouldn't be trying to help him clean up. Anyways, he started chasing after us and shouting he was going to get us expelled. We had a wild goose hunt around the entire castle. Finally, we came up here and must have ran by it a few times hoping that we could find a hide-out."

"Oh my god," Lily interrupted, watching him intently as he spoke.

"I know, we just barely got away," he replied before continuing with his story. "The next day, we wanted to go back to the room because we accidentally left our m--, something, behind. However, we couldn't find the room. So, we retraced all of our steps that night, thanks to Remus's great memory. Finally, we came up here and walked around a bit. Then, the next thing we know, a door appears."

"Wow," Lily said before narrowing her eyes on him and asking, "What did you leave behind?"

"I don't remember," he lied.

"Yes you do," she insisted. "You almost said it, something that begins with an 'm' sound."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"James."

"Okay, I can't tell you," he honestly said. "I wish I could, but I can't."

"How come?"

"Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I all made a pact that certain things stay between the four of us. It's one of those things," James replied.

"Okay," she said, dropping the subject immediately.

James stared at her for a moment, shocked at her reaction. He didn't think it would be this easy to convince her that he couldn't inform her about the Marauder's Map. In fact, he was sure it would take at least ten minutes, as opposed to the actual ten seconds. The Lily Evans he spent time with earlier that week, the crazy Lily, wouldn't have dropped the subject this easily. The Lily he was with now, however, was the amazing Lily that he grew to love as each second passed.

Suddenly, James was snapped back into reality when he heard Lily shout his name and jump up from her spot on the bench. She was pointing at the fire, and James immediately focused his attention in the direction of her finger.

"Oh shit," he gasped, his eyes widening as he spoke. His marshmallow was on fire. He took the stick out of the flame quickly and blew on it, hoping to extinguish the large flame.

"Careful," Lily said.

He blew again, but this time it only grew larger. "Fuck," he complained. He looked around the room, hoping to find something that might extinguish the flaming marshmallow.

To his luck, a bottle of water sat behind another log. He sprang toward it and opened the bottle's top with his teeth. He then sprayed the fluffy, burnt mess until the final flame was washed away.

"Well, I think I'm going to need a new marshmallow," he simply said as he sat back down on the log, as if nothing happened at all.

Lily smiled as she sat down next to him, their legs slightly touching. She picked up the bag of food and flung it toward him, smacking him lightly in the stomach.

"Thank you," he sweetly said as he plopped another marshmallow on his stick.

Lily, on the other hand, was completely finished toasting her marshmallow. She squeezed it off the stick and into the graham cracker before adding the final touch, a brick of chocolate. The chocolate began to melt at once; the heat from the gooey marshmallow radiating into the other food.

"Yum," she said as she took a bite out of the campfire snack.

"That looks good," James commented before looking into the fire at his own marshmallow, which wasn't even close to being finished.

"It is good," she replied.

"Mine isn't going to be down for a while," he stated, his stomach grumbling as he spoke.

"That's too bad," she teased before taking another bite of the sticky creation.

"You know, there's this new trend going around, have you heard of it? It's when people share food with their boyfriends," James said, hoping she would fall for his made-up story.

"Nice try," she replied. "Yours will be done soon."

"But yours is done now," he sweetly told her.

"Not going to happen," she said, although she wasn't able to hide her grin at all.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Nope."

"You know, it's people like you who give women a bad name," he joked.

"People like me? How so?"

"By not sharing food, and then being mean about it," he said, crossing his arms like a little child.

"Well, I think its people like you that give men a bad name," she countered. "By asking women for food."

James grinned at her and teased, "Not true."

She ignored his comment and nodded toward his marshmallow. "You might want to get that before it ends up like the other one."

James turned to see his marshmallow and instantly followed her advice, saving his precious food. He then made a S'more and gobbled it right down, which received a questioning look from Lily.

"What?' he asked.

"Did you even taste that?" she sarcastically asked.

"Of course," he answered as he licked the marshmallow goo off his fingers.

"You are one of a kind," Lily stated.

"Likewise," he replied as he continued to lick his fingers clean. After a few minutes passed, a thought suddenly came to James's mind. He cocked his head toward Lily and said, "I thought you were against eating sweets."

Oh shit. She was done for. James discovered her secret. He put two and two together; adding everything that occurred in Hogsmeade and right now. She had to think fast, she liked him too much to blow this opportunity. "Well, sweets every now and then are okay."

He gave her a doubtful look, but put it behind him. After all, she did drop the subject of the Marauder's Map, so he felt inclined to give her a break as well.

"James, this is really nice," Lily suddenly said, turning to look at him. When she did, their eyes met at once, locked in position. Lily was amazed at what she saw; the firelight made his hazel eyes come alive with passion. She saw everything she was looking for when she looked at him. The firelight echoed off his face, illuminating his features.

Similarly, James felt something spark inside him when he looked at Lily this time. She looked magical; her emerald eyes portraying the very essence of her peaceful, yet fiery attitude. She seemed to glow, as if she were an angel descending from Heaven. Never in his life did he ever see anyone look so beautiful. Her red hair hung loosely by her face, slightly tumbling over her shoulders. It was like a shadow though, only magnifying her precious face.

James wasn't sure if it was just the romantic atmosphere of the fire blazing before them combined with the tons of tiny stars above their heads, but he instantly knew he never wanted to be apart from Lily again. He loved her. Just sitting with her by the fire made his heart race with excitement.

"James," she whispered, trying to regain her voice.

"Lily," he whispered back.

"Kiss me," she demanded in a light voice.

Doing as he was told, James leaned forward and laid his lips upon Lily's. He ran his hands through her silky hair until they found their place around her waist. He pulled her onto his lap, making it easier for them both to engulf each other in their kisses.

James tasted her sweet lips, which were like magic to him. The softness that they provided was comforting to him, like they were meant to fit perfectly with his. He could feel from her every touch that she felt the same way about him that he did towards her. She loved him with all her heart, just as he did for her.

Soon enough, the young couple found themselves off the log bench and onto the dirt floor, slightly further away from the blazing fire. Still, it provided warmth for Lily and James, a radiating heat that warmed their bodies and hearts.

Lying down beside Lily, James broke away from her trembling lips for a moment and propped himself up on one elbow. "You're beautiful," he whispered, gently stroking her hair out of her face.

She smiled back at him and gazed into his warm eyes. She felt her heart hammering, but through his chest, she felt his beat at the same rate. It was a wonderful feeling for both Lily and James, their hearts beating as one unit, synchronized down to the millisecond.

Lily reached up and gently touched his cheekbone and ran her hand down the side of his face until she reached his jaw line. She didn't say anything, but her eyes told him that she adored him.

"Lils?" he asked.

She smiled and asked, "Yeah?"

"Promise me this won't ever end."

"I promise," she whispered. She let a moment pass before saying, "You called me Lils, not Lily."

"Is that okay?"

"It's more than okay," she answered.

James smiled down at her and laid another tender kiss on her lips. Never in his life had he ever had a night like this; it was amazing. He felt like a king, lying next to and kissing the most prized possession any man could dream about.

His kisses eventually trailed down her cheek and along her jaw, forcing a slight moan to be released from Lily's lips. He felt her heart speed up a bit more and saw her eyes flash open. She lifted her arms high above her head, her implications clear.

"Are you sure?' he asked.

"Positive," she whispered back before she felt his rough hands shimmy the cotton material of her shirt above her head.

He kissed her collarbone, leaving a trail of love across her exposed skin. It was at that moment that they both knew they would never experience a more enchanted moment in their entire lives. Nothing could be more magical than the blazing fire, providing a mere glimpse of light for the young couple as they professed their love.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Hi all! I hope you enjoyed chapter 12! I know it wasn't nearly as funny as the rest of the chapters, but the romantic business between Lily and James has finally gotten underway! Yay! Anyways, I am debating whether or not it would be worth my time/ interest anyone if I were to write an unedited version of this chapter and post it. Let me know if you would be interested in reading it by means of a review. Speaking of reviews, please review the chapters, it means the world to me when you do!


	13. Day Nine: Lunch Conversations

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to Lillith Potter, lizziee, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, xxquidditchjunkiexx, Nocturnal007, thehalfbloodprincess, laurahonest, CrazzyD', Aria Sparks, onesmartgoalie, BellaLuna006, Searching For More, Whitelight72, I'm Blond. James Blond., Sarah12345, reader, Jessi-Black33, zuska1985, Jamie, featherfinger, hoolihoopgrl131, JeanMarie, Grub5000 SJ Fan, marrokinhas, Disaster Strikes Again, puppyluva, JPx3LE, Greekchic, rayolis, readerfan, potterchik, lovin potter, Flame Of Desire, Pancake278, mrspadfoot4eva, AddictedtoCookies, LandJ-SandD-Fan, Miss Myrtle360, JeminaDOTM5, cosmopolitan, serindraxx, ourlittlesecret7, Tamsididi, Rylie D, teengirl01, Elerrina, -Scp-, sam, snoopykitty, siriusforeva, Ravenclaw Steph, and Katie for reviewing! Over fifty reviews for one chapter, I LOVE you all a million times over. Sorry for not posting this earlier, but I was away for the past few days and I had some stressful computer issues (see second author's note if you would care to read them.) Also, thanks to anyone who reviewed the unedited version of chapter 12 (Magical Moments) I really appreciate it! Now, happy reading!

* * *

Lily could feel warm breathing against her neck, tickling it slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, careful not to be blinded by the bright light that filled the room. Glancing at her exposed arm, she saw a man's hand resting across her. For a moment, her heart sped up and her eyes widened, but then she remembered.

It was only James. She felt a smile press at the sides of her lips; yes, she certainly did remember last night. It was a night full of passion, lust, and love. At the same time, she felt very natural doing it with him, sex. It was as if she was meant to press against his naked body and he in return to her. They fit magically together, and was a night Lily knew she would never forget. Everything about last night was perfect. James had just the right expertise to be tender and loving, yet passionate and fierce. It was just the right combination that she craved for.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Despite the fact that she loved lying beneath the thin sheet with James, him cradling her naked form, she knew it needed to end.

Turning in his arms, she pried herself up on one elbow and gathered the blanket to cover her body. She stared at him for a moment, taking in every aspect of his sleeping face. He looked gentle and innocent, almost like a child. His messy hair was even wilder than usual, which didn't surprise her at all, she loved his hair.

As if he knew that she was watching him, his eyes fluttered open, revealing orbs of hazel.

"Hey you," she said.

"Morning," he whispered before yawning. He loosened his arms, allowing her to be released from his grip. He stretched his tanned arms high above his head, stretching his overused muscles.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Wonderful," James replied, smiling up at her. He felt like the luckiest man alive. "How're you feeling?"

"Amazing," she answered, moving one of her soft hand into his arm. She gently rubbed her hand up and down, easing the tension in his muscular arm. "I just wish I didn't have to go."

"Then don't," she smartly said, hoisting himself up to her level and placing a light kiss on her lips.

She let out a small moan, loving the feeling of his lips against hers. "But I have to… we both have to."

"I don't want to," he whined pulling her down next to him and wrapping his arms around her.

Lily laughed at his response, but asserted, "James, we both have class in half an hour. McGonagall will kill us if we skip her class again."

"She didn't kill us last time," he countered, bringing his lips to her neck and laying sweet kisses up and down its length.

"But she will this time," Lily lazily protested.

"I don't want to go," he whined again. "And I certainly don't want you to go."

She smiled and giggled again before running her fingers through his untamed mess of hair. She felt her stomach flutter as his kisses made their way to her collarbone, leaving a trail along her body.

"How about we make a deal," he offered, saying each word in-between rounds of kisses.

"What kind of a deal?" she playfully asked.

"If I can throw this rock over the fire, then you stay. If I miss, then we will both go to class," James replied.

Lily sucked on her lower lip while she contemplated the height of the fire, which was still blazing even after the long night. He must have used a charm on it; forcing the flames to shine at a constant height. It was pretty high, but then again, James was a chaser for the Quidditch team. In the end, she decided to let him try. "Okay, fine. But if I win, then you can't start whining and demand a retry."

"Okay," he agreed. "But when I win, you can't back out of our little arrangement."

"Deal."

James sloppily held the small rock in his hand, and while still lying on the ground, he heaved it into the air. Both Lily and James watched as the rock flew upward and past the fire before coming tumbling down on the other side. The problem, however, was that it didn't clear the flames. It went through them, not over.

Sighing, James had a disappointed look across his face. Damn. He should have sat up before tossing it, then he would have made it up and over the fire with ease. "Okay, fine," he grumbled, "You win."

Staring at him as he sat up, Lily said, "You know, I saw it go over."

James leaned his entire body weight against one of his hands, which dug into the dirt's surface. His eyes glowed at hearing her words; she wanted to stay here with him just as much as he did. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, his free hand going to the side of her face.

Breaking away from her slightly, he whispered, "You are amazing."

She giggled again before kissing him firmly on the lips. She knocked him toward the ground and bore her weight against his chest. Her hands roamed his hair just as her tongue explored his mouth.

Lily didn't know what it was about James, but she adored every aspect of him. She loved his goofy personality, his sometimes serious moments, his ability to play Quidditch, his skills in the classroom, and his passionate physical talent. Whatever it was the drove her toward him, she never wanted it to go away. She was having too much fun with James. He provided her with everything she ever desired.

Even now, after sharing a very physical, steamy, and passionate night with James, he still had her on her toes. There was never a dull moment. Just kissing him, which was what they were doing now, made her feel excited. True, neither of them were dressed, which did account for some of the excitement, but she knew it was his passion that drove her wild.

They continued to idly laze around the Room of Requirement for the next hour. Underneath their light sheet, they held onto one another, as if it would be their last chance ever. It was relaxing for them both just to lay there and gaze into one another's eyes. Just to hear the soft inhales and exhales of their partners was a soothing sound. The sweet kisses that laced each other's lips every so often were a nice way of reminding one another how much they cared. It was a lounging hour, one that came and passed too soon for either of their comfort.

Sighing, Lily said, "Okay, James. As much as I love being here with you, we've got to go now."

He groaned, but agreed, "Okay, fine… We'll go."

She laid one last kiss on his lips before her heart started hammering. One thought had never occurred to her. Her cloths were not within reaching distance. She stole a glance toward James and saw a goofy grin appear on his face; he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Do you mind?" Lily suddenly asked.

"What?" he cheekily responded.

"I need to get dressed," she informed him.

"What's your point?" he countered, a grin still plastered across his face.

"Could you shut your eyes or something?" she asked.

"Lils," he began, "I don't think we have anything to hide…"

"Oh come on," she begged.

"Lils, if you're worried about a little skin showing, you really shouldn't," he started before added, "Because I saw enough to feast my eyes for a lifetime last night."

She got a mock outrage look on her face and playfully hit him upside the head, "You're a pig."

"What?" he questioned while laughing. "It's true."

"I don't care if it is, you shouldn't say that," she protested.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've got a class to get to and I've still got to shower," he said, changing the topic of discussion. Just then, without giving her any warning at all, he got up from under the sheet and gathered his clothes, putting them on as reached each item.

Lily bit her lip and wished she could have been that confident. After all, he was right. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. Still embarrassed, however, Lily gathered up their sleeping sheet and wrapped it around herself as she went and gathered her own clothing.

"See, I've out tricked you," she teased.

"Is that so?" he jokingly asked.

"Yes," she stated as she finished dressing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go take a shower and put on some fresh clothes."

She smiled at him as she walked away, James quickly followed her. They walked hand in hand back to Gryffindor, giving each other one last kiss before departing to their separate dorm rooms.

---

After Lily's morning classes, she quickly darted for the Great Hall, wanting to get there in time for a decent lunch. As she entered the magnificent room, she quickly spotted Sam and Kelsey seated toward the middle of Gryffindor's long table.

She eagerly walked over to them and plumped down in a seat next to Kelsey, a large smile still present on her face. In fact, all throughout her classes that day she hadn't been able to wipe a smile off her face. She was still too thrilled about her evening with James.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Sam sternly said the moment Lily poured herself some pumpkin juice.

"Excuse me?' Lily asked, surprised by the harsh tone in Sam's usually friendly voice.

"I said, where the fuck have you been," she repeated.

"Last night?"

"No, five days ago," Kelsey sarcastically said, "Of course last night."

"I was with James," Lily honestly answered.

"Oh really?" Sam began. She then turned toward Kelsey and in an over-exaggerated voice said, "She was with James Potter! Of course, why didn't we assume that? Hmm… Maybe it's because she bloody hates him!"

"Calm down," Lily nervously said, looking over her shoulder as she spoke.

"Calm down?" Sam asked, her voice rising with anger. "You want me to calm down? Lily do you have any idea how fucking worried we were about you last night?"

"I'm sorry," Lily said, holding her hands up in front of her.

"God Lils, we thought something happened to you," Kelsey began, in a much more calm voice than Sam's. "We thought James might have taken advantage of you or something."

Lily blushed slightly, but repeated her initial response. "I'm really sorry guys, one thing led to another and we ended up spending the night together."

Sam sighed and slightly shook her head, "You know what, its fine… You're obviously okay… It's just been a very stressful day, or night, or whatever."

"Sirius broke up with Tracey last night," Kelsey explained. "She was up all night sobbing her bloody eyes out… I mean, the shouting crying didn't stop until nearly two, and even then all night long it was just sniffles coming from her."

Lily suddenly looked very intent and the smile dropped from her face. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"Apparently, at least this is what I've managed to gather from the situation," Kelsey began, "Is that Sirius gave her the 'You're a really great girl, but I think we're better off as friends' routine."

"Which we all know means 'I'm going to start dating other people, but whenever I need a good shag, I'll call you up,'" Sam added.

"Oh, the poor girl," Lily commented, "She really liked him."

"Yeah, but that's what you get for dating Sirius Black," Sam reminded her. "We all know the longest relationship he's ever had lasted a month."

"Besides, Tracey's pretty much the same way. I mean, she's a sweet girl and all, but let's face it, the longest relationship she's ever had only lasted two months," Kelsey chimed in. "And once that one was over she moved on and started dating someone else within ten days."

"I suppose you're right, but I still feel bad," Lily replied.

"Of course you do," Sam joked, "Now, on the brighter side of things, what happened last night with James?"

Lily felt a blush rise to her entire face. She wondered if she should tell them, after all, they were her best friends. Then again, neither of them liked James at all. They viewed him as a disgusting, arrogant, bigheaded teenager. They didn't want anything to do with him. No, they wouldn't understand Lily's newfound feelings for James.

Then again, how could Lily know for sure how they felt about him unless she was honest about the whole situation? Who was to say that they wouldn't instantly find him bearable now that Lily was dating him? No one would ever know unless Lily told them. Besides, she was sorted into Gryffindor for a reason; she obviously had some bravery in her. She could certainly muster up the courage to face her friends and tell them the honest truth.

"Okay, guys," Lily began as she nervously bit at her lip. "I've got a confession to make."

Both Sam and Kelsey stared at her with eager eyes, craving to know what Lily was about to say. What could make her so nervous that she would start biting her lip?

"I think I've started to fall for James Potter," she quickly spat out.

"What?" both Sam and Kelsey asked, hoping that they didn't hear her speak correctly.

"I think I've started to fall for James Potter," she repeated, this time much slower.

"Are you sure?" Kelsey asked, a confused look upon her face.

"Yeah, did he put some sort of curse on you?" Sam questioned.

"Or drug you or something?"

"Should we take you to the hospital wing?"

"Guys, shut up," Lily loudly said, shutting down all of their questions. "I know exactly what I just said, and it's true… He's not such a bad guy after all; he's sweet and very adorable."

"Lily, puppies are sweet and adorable," Sam stated. "James Potter is a complete asshole."

"No, you don't know him like I do," Lily replied. "He makes me laugh, he's got an amazing personality, and I don't know, there's just something about him that I can't resist."

"Lils, are you sure you haven't been drugged?" Kelsey asked, a worried look in her eyes.

"I'm sure."

"I mean this is James Potter we're talking about, right? The same guy that hexed the same amount of people that fit inside a classroom? And the same guy that asked you out more than a thousand times in the span of two years?" Sam asked, reminding Lily of everything she used to hate about him.

"I know, he used to be a prat, but he's changed so much… He's really very different. He's responsible, a fantastic athlete, funny, smart, charming… And the list goes on, it really does. I like him so much," Lily said, looking up at her friends with hopeful eyes.

Sam sighed for a moment before looking Lily directly in the eye. "Are you absolutely positive that you like him?"

"Yeah," she answered, a smile playing at her lips.

"Okay, I'm behind you completely… But if he puts just one toe out of line, his balls are mine," Sam said, grinning at Lily after her threat of decapitating a certain part of James that he would surely miss.

"Me too," Kelsey agreed, "But I'm with Sam… If that boy tries one thing, he's in the Great Lake being eaten by the Giant Squid faster than you can say Quidditch."

"The Giant Squid doesn't' eat people, you idiot," Sam remarked.

"You know what I mean," Kelsey snapped.

"Wait a minute," Lily said in an alarming voice. "That's it? You guys are okay with this?"

"Well, yeah," Kelsey said.

"Lils, we love you, and for some fucked up reason, if you decide to like a guy, it's kind of in our contract to give him a chance," Sam joked.

"Really?"

"Well, I was making up the contract, but yeah," Sam replied. "Lils, if you decided to like a Slytherin, we'd be behind you. Of course, we'd try very hard to change your mind, like we have with James, but we'd still be behind you one-hundred percent."

"Thanks."

"No problem," Kelsey remarked, before getting a devious look on her face and asking, "So, what did happen?"

Lily flushed once more, but now with the approval of her friends, she dove into her tale of last night. She told them every single detail about everything, with the exception of a few minor things. For example, she told them James enchanted an abandoned classroom, not used the secret Room of Requirement. She also left you the dirty details about their passionate night together; only giving them the PG-13 rated details.

"You had sex with him?" Kelsey hissed, her eyes widening as she spoke.

"I know, I know," Lily replied, her hands flying to her cheeks as she spoke. "It just felt so right, and he was being so sweet… I just kind of gave into it. Not that he forced it on me at all, he even double checked with me to make sure it was what I absolutely wanted. There was something inside me though, that was like 'Okay, Lily, do it.' And so I did."

"Any regrets?"

"Nope," Lily answered before adding "But jeez guys, you make it sound as if I was a virgin before last night," with a giggle. True, she wasn't a virgin before last night, but had only been with one other man before, and had only done it once. That was just months earlier, during the summer holidays with a muggle boyfriend she had.

"So, is he, you know?" Sam asked, wiggling her eyebrows up and down as she spoke.

"Samantha Claire Henderson, I cannot believe you just asked me that," Lily shrieked.

"Well, is he?"

Sighing, Lily replied, "He's amazing."

"Well, that's not what I was referring to, but that was going to be my next question," Sam teased.

Lily looked outraged for a moment, but all three girls burst into laughter. Once they regained themselves, however, Lily said, "Well, he's got large hands… And you know what they say about guys with large hands."

"They wear large gloves," Kelsey wittily finished the saying before all three girls broke into another round of laughter.

All of a sudden, their laughter was interrupted by the very stern voice of Professor McGonagall. She stood behind Lily and peered down at the red-haired girl with strict eyes. "We need to talk for a moment."

Lily gulped, but excused herself from her friends to have a private word with the Transfiguration teacher.

---

Meanwhile, James and his three best friends all came striding into the Great Hall and claimed a spot at the end of the table for themselves. They were seated far away from Lily and her friends, and none of them noticed Professor McGonagall pull Lily aside.

"I just don't understand why you found it so necessary to break up with Tracey, that's all I'm saying," Remus said as he piled food onto his plate.

"She's nice, but I don't know, not what I'm looking for," Sirius answered.

"What she didn't put out?" Peter joked.

"Shut up," Sirius said as he hit Peter over the head. "That part was very good, it's her personality. I don't know, she's not funny enough or something. I mean, she can't even dish back good comebacks."

"Oh, I see the problem," Remus teased.

"No, I completely agree with him," James said, sticking up for his best friend. "You can't be with someone who can't put up a good match with you."

"Coming from the guy with the psycho girlfriend," Remus sarcastically commented.

James grinned as images of Lily flashed into his mind. "She's not like that."

"Are you kidding? She put girl products in our bathroom and turned your bed into a zoo for stuffed animals," Sirius said.

"She's different now though," James began. "These past couple days she's been like the Lily Evans that I've been head-over-heels madly in love with for the past two years. She's cool, confident, and just an all around amazing person."

"Speaking of Lily, where were you last night?" Peter questioned, a grin plastered across his chubby face.

"I took her to the Room of Requirement," James answered, a sly smile reaching from ear to ear.

"And spent the night?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yup."

"Wow, I didn't think Lily Evans was that kind of girl," Remus remarked. He could tell just from the way that James spoke and acted toward the conversation that he and Lily had done much more than just a little sleepover.

"I know," James agreed. "It just kind of happened though."

"Well, you claim she's changed," Sirius stated. "But if she hasn't and is still a psychotic bitch, then at least you got something out of the whole dating thing."

"You're fucking bastard," James remarked, although his mannerism was quite different from the harsh words. Instead, he said it in a brotherly sort of way; scornful, yet laughter glinting in his eyes.

"Well, that and the money," Peter piped up, ignoring James's comment.

"Not so fast," Sirius snapped. "He hasn't won any money. Lily's got to be head-over-heels in love with him by tomorrow for him to win any money."

"Speaking of that," James began as he shoved a forkful of vegetables in his mouth. "I want to call the bet off."

"You can't do that," Sirius argued.

"Yes, I can," he protested. "Things are different now… It was a dick thing to do, make the bet. And I really like Lily, I'm not betting on it anymore."

"No way, you just want out because you know she doesn't actually love you and you want to keep your money," Sirius stated, a smug look upon his face. "Well, I'm not falling for your tricks, James. The bet is on and you have until tomorrow to make her fall in love with you."

"I'm not playing any tricks," James argued. "I really like and don't want her to find out about it, it'd ruin everything I have with her."

"Relax, she won't find out," Remus said, finally looking up from his Potions homework and rejoining the conversation. "That way, when we all see that she can't possibly love you, not after ten days anyways, Sirius will win his money, which will make him happy. And you'll still have Lily, which will make you happy. She won't know anything about any of it, so she'll be happy."

Sighing, James reluctantly agreed with Remus, with the exception of the losing money part. In his view, James won the money, got the girl, and the girl loved him. He was confident of his position about the event, or at least portrayed his confidence despite his natural feelings.

"Mister Potter, just who I was looking for," came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall. She snuck up behind the Marauders, making them all jump at the sound of her voice. James turned to face her and saw a bitter look upon her face and her lips were pursed closely together. She had an angry expression in her eyes, which were raised almost to the top of her forehead.

"Yes Professor?" he hesitantly questioned.

"Come here, Potter," she demanded.

Taking a large gulp, James slid off his seat and stood up to follow McGonagall to a deserted area of the Great Hall. Despite the fact that he hovered nearly a feet above her, he was still very threatened by the strict professor. She was the type of lady that could strike fear in any student with just one look.

"Now, I will tell you exactly what I just told Miss Evans," she began.

Shit. She knew about the Room of Requirement, that's the only thing this could be about. She knew that neither of them were in their dorm rooms last night. She knew that they spent the entire night together, breaking at least ten school rules. Fuck. As Head Boy, he certainly couldn't afford to get in serious trouble. No student would ever respect him after seeing that he received a month's worth of detention as well as losing fifty points from Gryffindor. Crap. Shit. Fuck. He was screwed.

"I suppose you know what this is about," she sternly said, her voice sounding fierce and professional.

"Yeah, I suppose I do," he agreed. Why fight it? That would only make things worse.

"You and Miss Evans will both serve detention with me on Sunday night," McGonagall instructed. "I expect to see you both in my office at seven p.m. sharp Sunday night."

"Are you kidding?" he asked, a bewildered expression on his face. How could he and Lily only get off with just one detention? They broke several school rules. He could recall times when he was caught out of bed five minutes after check-in time and he received a week's worth of detention to learn a lesson.

"Well, no, I'm not," she replied, her face softening as she spoke. "I would do it tonight, but we have a faculty meeting tonight at seven. And believe it or not, Mister Potter, but I'm not an unreasonable woman. I could have given it to you tomorrow or Saturday, but I figured that would be cruel."

"Wait, so it's just that one detention? I don't lose any points or anything?" he asked, cocking one of his eyebrows.

"Not unless you really want to lose House points, but I would prefer to win the House Cup for the fifth year in a row," she wittily responded, showing a side of her that James had never seen in his seven years at Hogwarts.

"Well, no, I'm just shocked, that's all," he replied.

"Mister Potter, this detention is for missing my class for the second time in nine days," she sternly informed him, picking back up her teacher attitude. "Is there something else you would like to confess to?"

James felt a flood of relief rush into his chest. McGonagall didn't know about the Room of Requirement. He was stressed out for no reason at all. Everything was going to be just fine. "Um, no, Professor."

"Alright then," she said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I've got a lesson to plan. And I would suggest you get back to lunch so that you can make it to at least one lesson today."

"Yes, Professor," he said, smiling at her as he headed back to his friends.

---

Lily glanced up at the large clock near the circulation desk of the library and noticed that it only read 7:45. Sighing, she looked down at the piles of homework in front of her. It was going to be a very long night. She had been in the library for an hour already and only completed her Charms essay. She still had a Transfiguration essay to write, practice her Defense Against the Arts skills, read twenty pages from her very boring Potions book, and read thirty pages for Herbology. Yes, she was certainly in store for a very long night.

Heaving her Herbology book on the wooden table, Lily flipped through it until she found the material concerning Augmen Dumus, a rare shrub that when its leaves were crushed and boiled in water, it became similar to a steroid. It was very illegal for anyone to consume, yet so many Quidditch players broke the law and grew the plant on their own. Of course, the punishment if discovered was awful. If caught, that player was automatically thrown off all Quidditch teams and could never return to a professional career in Quidditch. There were no second chances when it came to rare shrub.

Lily leaned her head against her palm and flipped to the next page of her book. She already knew so much about the shrub, but knew she needed to read the material anyway.

"What're you doing?" came a man's voice from behind her.

Lily whipped her head around and smiled when she saw James Potter standing there. He had a peachy grin across his face and his hair was still wet from just returning from a shower.

"Studying," she answered.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Go for it," she answered as she shoved her schoolbag off the chair next to her and slid it onto the ground.

"Herbology, this looks like a boring read," he commented.

"It is," she replied. "What have you been up to?"

"Quidditch practice," James answered. "The team is really shaping up this year. The Keeper has improved so much since I last saw him practice. He said he's been going to the Pitch everyday to get in some flying time, and it has definitely paid off."

"That's good."

"And, you wouldn't believe this," he began. "But my Seeker is like a God or something. After the snitch was released it only took her fifteen minutes to track it down and grab it."

"Fifteen minutes?"

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Last year it took her nearly an hour at every practice… I've got a good feeling about the team this year. We're finally going to win the Quidditch Cup, which Gryffindor hasn't done in eight years, according to McGonagall."

"Well, I hope you win it," Lily said.

"Me too, especially as captain. The past few years, yeah it was important to me, but I was just a player on the team. Now, however, I'm captain. And this is my Quidditch team. I'm the one whose been training them and making cuts from the team and everything else… It's just very nerve-wracking."

"Relax, you've got a long time until the Cup is awarded," Lily reassured him.

"Yeah," he said and looked back down at her Herbology book. "Are you interested in taking a study break?"

With puzzled eyes, she asked, "What kind of a study break?"

"Do you like ice cream?"

"I love ice cream."

"Then an ice cream study break."

"Yum."

"Come on then," he said, shooting up from his chair and picking up Lily's bag and setting it on the table. Lily then shoved her books into the bag and hoisted it across her shoulder. "Want me to carry that?" he asked.

"I've got it," she replied.

"Okay then, follow me."

The couple made their way down many flights of stairs and through several corridors before stopping in front of a portrait of a giant fruit bowl. James looked around and waited until he knew that no one could see him. Reaching his hand out, he tickled the giant green pear. It suddenly began to squirm and chuckle before transforming into a large green door handle.

Lily could only stare at it with complete shock. She didn't know where she was, nor was James planning on telling her, but she was very impressed. In just a matter of two days, James had already shown her two secret places in the castle.

Turning the large green door handle, James opened the door and led the way inside. The room was filled with House Elves, all of them working on different food-related projects. In one corner, a House Elf was stirring a large bowl of cookie dough, preparing for tomorrow's dessert. Another House Elf was brewing a large container of Pumpkin Juice, a tasty drink that was offered to the students nearly everyday.

"Wow," was all Lily could say.

"Well, Lils, welcome to the kitchens," James said, flashing her a bright smile.

"Wow, this is amazing," she stated, looking around the monstrous room.

"Isn't it though?" he agreed before turning his attention to one of the House Elves. "Hey, Blinky."

"Hello Mister James Potter," Blinky said in a very cautious voice. "What can Blinky get for Mister James Potter and Mister James Potter's friend?"

"Blinky, for the millionth time, you can call me James," he informed the House Elf.

"So sorry Mister James," Blinky replied, bowing his head as he spoke.

James only sighed; the House Elf would never change. He requested to be called James; not James Potter, not Mister James Potter, and not Mister James. Just James. Yet, Blinky insisted on calling him Mister James, despite all of his efforts to change that.

"Do you have any ice cream left?" James asked, not bothering to correct the House Elf again.

"Certainly Mister James, anything for Mister James," Blinky said nodding his head as he spoke. He then walked away from the Lily and James and headed towards a large door, which was assumed to be the freezer. He came back a second later and held two large bowls of vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, sprinkles, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry on top.

"Thank you Blinky," James said taking the two bowls from the House Elf and passing one to Lily.

"Yes, thank you," Lily said, finally speaking up.

Blinky's eyes lit up when he heard their gracious tones. It wasn't that he wasn't used to being treated nicely; Dumbledore was always pleasant and respectful of the House Elves whenever he entered the kitchens. Still though, Blinky had heard many stories from other House Elves about masters whose only form of communication with their imprisoned elves was by means of punishment.

"Oh, um, I almost forgot," James suddenly announced. "Lily, this is Blinky. Blinky, this is Lily Evans."

"It's nice to meet you," Lily told the House Elf. She had to fight every urge to stick out her hand to shake Blinky's hand. She never actually met a House Elf before, but read plenty about them. She knew that the simple act of a handshake would be very odd behavior to Blinky and would probably even be disrespectful to him.

"Hello, Miss Lily Evans," Blinky said. "If you ever need anything Miss Lily Evans, let Blinky know and Blinky will be happy to serve you."

"Um, thank you, Blinky," she replied.

"Blinky must get back to work now, but here is a table that Mister James and Miss Lily Evans can sit at," Blinky said and with the snap of his fingers, a small table for two appeared.

With that said, Blink wandered off and began to do more work around the kitchen, leaving Lily and James standing with ice cream sundaes in their hands.

"Shall we?" James asked, motioning toward the table.

"Sure," Lily replied as she sat across from James at the table. She stuck her spoon into the enormous bowl of ice cream and placed a delicious spoonful into her mouth. It was very different from muggle ice cream. Each spoonful was like a little drop of heaven placed upon one's tongue.

"I can't believe McGonagall gave us both detention," James complained.

"I know," Lily agreed. She paused for a moment before asking, "James, you've been in detention a lot, right?"

"Well, not a lot, but I've had my share fair of them."

"What're they like?"

"Wait a second, have you never had detention before?" he asked, a shocked look upon his face.

"Never."

"Ever?"

"Nope."

"Wow, how?"

Lily laughed, "I don't know, I've just never been in trouble before… Honestly, when I first heard that we received detention, I kind of freaked out a bit."

"Don't worry about it, they really aren't bad at all," he assured her. "The worst that I've ever had to do was wash all the trophies in the Trophy Room by hand. So really, don't stress out about it."

"Yeah, okay," she shrugged. "It's just, well, I've never had one in my life."

"It'll be okay," he said. "Besides, we'll be in it together, which always makes the time fly by so much faster."

"You're right," she agreed, forcing a smile.

"Besides, you haven't lived a little until you've been in detention with James Potter. So, you basically get the best kind of detention there is," he joked.

"Okay, whatever," she laughed, feeling slightly better than she previously did. Looking back on it, Lily would realize that breaking the rules was worth it. As James said, you haven't lived until you broke just one.

"Oh, and are you doing anything Saturday night?" he asked.

"Nope," she answered, a smile playing at her lips.

"Okay, well, don't have dinner that night, and meet me in Gryffindor at seven," he said.

"James?" she asked, a curious look upon her face.

"I swear it'll be a good surprise," he promised.

"Are we going out to eat?"

"Sort of," he began. Her green eyes pierced into him and he admitted, "Okay fine, in the Room of Requirement."

"Are you going to get Blinky to cook up something nice?" she asked.

"No, as a matter of fact, I'll be cooking," James informed her.

"You're shitting me, right?" she said, only in a half-joking manner.

"No, I'm really good at cooking."

"I don't believe you," she teased.

"I swear, I am," he began. Once again, her emerald eyes drove out the truth and he said, "Okay, fine, I'm not a good cook at most things. But there is one thing that I know how to cook, and I'm making it for you, if you care to join me that is."

"That would be the eleventh day of us, right?" she asked, although she already knew her statement was true.

"It certainly would."

"Alright, I'll go," Lily replied, giving him a large smile.

He grinned back at her. He knew that he needed to make Saturday night perfect for them both. He wasn't going to screw up anything at all, it was just going to be him and Lily. It was going to be perfect.

Lily, however, wasn't exactly thinking the same train of thoughts as James. Instead, her mind instantly flashed to her original arrangement. Nine days ago, she was certain there wouldn't be an eleventh day. Now, however, she was craving her eleventh day. She wondered if she should tell James about her original plan.

Would he understand? She tried to imagine what he would say if she told him the truth; that she originally dated him just to drive him away but in the process began to fall head-over-heels for him. She couldn't picture it at all. She didn't know whether he would be mad, angry, hurt, or okay with it.

Taking her chances, Lily knew she had to do the right thing. She couldn't go on lying to him. Besides, he was a reasonable guy, he would understand that she really liked him now, right? "James, there's something I need to tell you…"

However, her sentence was cut off by James jumping to his feet and exclaiming, "Holy shit, Lils. It's five before nine; we've got to get back to Gryffindor."

Lily turned her head and saw a large clock to her right. Shit. They did need to get back to Gryffindor. If they were caught outside of the dorm, they'd wind up with another detention.

Both Lily and James hollered a quick "thank you" to Blinky one more time before hurriedly running up the many steps and through the long corridors back to Gryffindor. Once inside, they both plumped down on two of the large chairs and sighed. It was 9:05. They were a little late, but neither of them were caught.

"Oh, Lils, did you want to tell me something back in the kitchens?" James asked, a curious look upon his face.

Lily bit her lower lips for a moment. It tasted salty against her tongue. She thought about it for a second before staring him in the eye and saying, "You know, it's not really important."

Shrugging his shoulder, James slightly raised his eyebrows but thought nothing of it.

Meanwhile, Lily felt her heart sink a bit. She couldn't tell him. She knew he wouldn't understand. He'd get defensive about the entire situation and never forgive her. She just knew that's how he would act about it.

Still, she smiled at him, locking up her emotions inside. She was having a pleasant evening with him and didn't want to ruin day nine of their relationship.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Hello all! I hope you enjoyed chapter 13! I've got to say, you wouldn't believe how much trouble posting this chapter was. First, my computer was being screwy and not letting my internet work. Second, it started thunder-storming so I had to turn off my computer. Third, it started hailing golf balls, which knocked the power out- for nearly five hours. Now, finally, here I am and can post it! So, I hope you all enjoyed it and please remember to review! Reviewing helps a million times with the typing process, and tomorrow's day 10!


	14. Day Ten: The Truth Comes Out

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to LUVSRW, Katie, thehalfbloodprincess, lizziee, koolkatkt123, -Scp-, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, onesmartgoalie, potterchik, Willimillia, zuska1985, Aria Sparks, featherfinger, siriusforeva, RoseRedRomance, ourlittlesecret7, pyscho-pyro-shrink, Miss Myrtle360, Asian-Novelist, hpottersgirl, naturalnin, born-to-perform, Sam's Firefly, mady, JeanMarie, Sarah12345, reader, rayolis, and 1ss2cos3poa4gof5ootp6hbp for reviewing! You are all AMAZING!

* * *

"Today's the day," Sirius brightly said as he took a seat across from James in the Great Hall. It was day ten of Lily and James's relationship, or as Sirius liked to call it: d-day. It was the moment of truth. Did she love him, or did she not love?

"Yes it is, and I believe that you will be owing me fifty galleons," James wittily replied.

"Don't count on it," Sirius retorted. "She may like you, which I could certainly believe. But love, now that's a different story. There is no way that Lily Evans could possibly love you after just ten days."

"Why's that?"

"It's only logical," Sirius began. "Eleven days ago she hated your guts. Ten days ago, she gave you a chance. Somewhere along the lines, she started to actually like you. But she hasn't fallen in love. No girl can go from pure hatred to love in that short of time."

"She did though," James argued. It was more than just the money that was talking too. Deep in his heart, James knew she loved him. He wanted her to love him. Nothing would please him more than to hear those three little words escape her lips.

"We'll see," Sirius responded as he grabbed a piece of toast and smeared some butter on it.

"Talking about the bet?" Remus asked as he and Peter sat down to join their fellow Marauders.

"Of course we are, Moony," Sirius answered. "It's day ten, would we be talking of anything else?"

"That's what I thought," Remus replied. "Now, I've got a question though. How long does he have to make her fall in love with him? I know it's got to be ten days, but what time today are we talking? By lunch? By dinner? When?"

Sirius thought about it for a moment before saying, "By midnight tonight. The entire dorm is invited to Mark Peterson's birthday party, so we'll all be there to see if she's really in love or not."

"Okay, by midnight tonight, you'll see," James said. "She'll be head-over-heels in love with me and you'll be fifty galleons poorer."

"Not a chance," Sirius retorted.

"How will we be able to tell if she actually loves him or not?" Peter asked, looking up from his waffles drenched in maple syrup.

"Hmm, good question," Sirius said before whipping his head around to look at Remus. "Moony, how will be tell if she's in love with him or not?"

Before Remus could answer, James interrupted, "Now hold on a second. There's a difference between being in love and saying 'I love you.' You can't base it off whether she says it to me or not, that'd be cheating."

"He's right," Remus mumbled and scratched his chin. He munched on his marmalade covered toast while he pondered the situation. How could they know for sure if she truly loved him? "I've got it," he finally said. "We just need to observe her when she's with and away from James. You can always tell what a woman's heart desires if you study her long enough… after all, nothing shines more than a woman in love."

"Moony, that was beautiful," Sirius jokingly said, wiping away a fake tear.

"Shut up," Remus grumbled and grinned as he flicked his friend in the head.

Interrupting Sirius and Remus's jokingly bickering conversation, James said, "Okay, that sounds good to me… Just remember, you have to be inconspicuous about it."

"We will be," Remus assured his friend. "Lily Evans won't have a clue what we're up to. She'll just assume it's a normal party and we're just being friendly party-goers."

"Alright."

"I'd hush up about this," Peter warned. "She's walking over here." All four boys looked across the Great Hall and saw Lily casually walk toward them. She had a slight swing in her hips; it was nothing forced, just a natural flow. She stopped for a moment, in front of a few sixth year girls and laughed at a comment one of them made. Her smile gave her a glowing feature, as if she were an angel descending from Heaven.

Once she reached the marauders, she took a seat next to James and said hello to all four boys. She still had a rosy smile across her lips, which showed her perfectly aligned teeth.

"Morning, Lils," James said.

"Morning," she replied. "So, I was just wondering if you had any plans tonight."

"It's Mark Peterson's birthday," he said. "You know him? The short sixth year with curly brown hair?"

"Of course I know who he is," Lily responded, couching up a laugh as she spoke. "He's only a year behind us, it's not like he's a new first year."

"Well, yeah," he softly said, redness appearing across his cheeks. "I was going to go to his party, but if you don't want to, we can do something else."

"No, I want to," she quickly replied. "I was just making sure you were going… I told Kelsey and Sam that I'd see them there, but maybe we can hang out a little too."

"I'd like that," he answered, a grin playing at his lips.

"Good," she remarked. "Okay, I've got to go to class now, as do the four of you, but I'll catch up with you later."

"See you," James replied.

Lily's heart sped up for a moment and her eyes darted around the table to make sure that none of the Marauders were watching her too closely. Once she established that Remus was busy doing class minute homework and Peter and Sirius were hungrily feasting on their meals, she took a small step closer to James. Bending down, she laid a small kiss on his cheek before breaking away. "See you later," she sweetly said.

James's hand went to his cheek as he stared at her and dumbly said, "Bye." He watched as she walked away from him, slinging her bag over her shoulder. He watched her every step across the tiled Great Hall floor. Her steps weren't too fast, nor were they considered slow. They were perfect. He gazed as she ran her narrow fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. Her long red hair seemed to glimmer as she walked, softly bouncing behind her. She was beautiful. Everything he desired in a girl, she possessed.

"Stop staring," Sirius sharply said, breaking James away from his own little world and back into reality.

"I wasn't staring," he replied, a blush rising to his face.

"Yes you were," Sirius argued, a large beaming grin spread across his face. "And don't even try to deny it either. That was a full on, drool appearing at your lips, eyes not even blinking stare."

"Shut up," James grumbled, knowing his best friend was right. He was guilty as far as staring came. It couldn't be helped though. She was mesmerizing. Every time he tried to look away, his eyes wouldn't allow it.

---

Lily stroked her mascara brush along her eyelashes, darkening and lengthening them with each stroke. She blinked her eyes for a moment and allowed the dark make-up to dry on her lashes. Screwing the cap back on the bottle, she batted her eyelashes at the mirror. She smiled, approving of her appearance.

True, it was just a birthday party that the entire dorm would be attending, nothing fancy at all, but Lily still felt the need to look better than her usual self did. She wore a tight pair of bellbottom jeans and a brand new black tank top, topped off with her new pair of platform shoes. Her shirt was revealing enough to flash a little skin, but kept her hidden enough to keep men guessing at what her body truly looked like. Of course, her drop-dead gorgeous outfit was intending for just one person. She wanted to look good for James.

Despite the fact that this was their tenth day together, Lily and James had truly only been seen together as a couple in Hogsmeade, which was a complete disaster. Besides, no one except for the waitress at the odd hippie restaurant really saw them interacting like a couple. Not to mention the fact that while in Hogsmeade, Lily was still determined to lose James. She didn't know his true self then, she didn't realize how great he was.

Now though, at this party, she could show the world that she was with James. No one would have to guess of Lily and James were actually dating or just becoming friends. People would look at them together and say, 'Wow, that's James Potter and Lily Evans. They sure do make a nice couple.'

Lily grinned as she imagined what people would say when she and James interacted at the party. She knew the types of activities that occurred at Gryffindor parties; there was always dancing, talking, eating, and more dancing. She wondered what people would say when they saw him sling his arm around her shoulder as they mingled with their friends. She pictured people gazing at them as they shared a slow dance together; people saying that they looked sweet together. Then when they danced to a fast song together and people would stare at how well they seemed to move together.

She felt her stomach lurch with excitement. This was going to be a birthday party she would never forget, she could tell already. She and James were going to be the dream couple at the party, the people that everyone wished they were.

Feeling giddy, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, making her newly curled hair tumble a little looser. She heard the music start up and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom section of the dorm room she shared with four of her fellow seventh years.

She loved hearing the music blast, filling every nook and cranny of the Gryffindor Tower. She recalled back in her first year at Hogwarts, before someone came up with the brilliant idea to charm a muggle record player. Life had been so boring then. There was no dancing at parties, just sitting around talking and eating.

Lily plopped down on her bed, knowing that she couldn't go downstairs to the party yet. It only just started, she needed to wait at least another half hour until it was a more fashionable time to arrive.

However, before Lily managed to open her magazine, her eyes opened wide. The magazine was disregarded and Lily jumped to her feet. Standing before her was Tracey. Her outfit and make-up was to kill for, it put Lily's wardrobe to shame.

"Tracey, you, you look amazing," Lily stated eyeing her dorm mate. Lily's comment was certainly accurate. Tracey stood in front of her wearing stiletto heels, a short jean skirt, and a very low cut long sleeved shirt. Her make-up and hair looked better than most supermodels. Needless to say, she looked stunning.

"Thank you," Tracey replied, flashing a large grin.

"Why so dressed up?" Lily carefully asked.

"Oh, that Sirius Black thinks he can dump me and get away with it. Well, he can't. He's going to take one look at me flirting with all the other guys around and come crying back to me, begging me to forgive him," she ranted, as if she'd saved up the speech for an entire year.

"Well, I must say, you'll definitely make him jealous," Lily commented.

"Oh, he just makes me so mad," Tracey exclaimed, her face reddening as she spoke. "I don't understand him at all. We were having such a good time together… I don't know what went wrong."

"Cheer up, you're too good for him," Lily replied, placing her hand on Tracey's arm.

"That's what everyone says," Tracey began. "But if it's so true, then why did he dump me? I mean, look at me. I'm smart, pretty, I have all the muggle and witch designer clothes…"

"And you're modest too," Lily added, letting the words slip out without meaning to.

Luckily, Tracey didn't catch up to Lily's joke and replied, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Still, I don't get it… We were so great together."

"He's just afraid of commitment," Lily stated. "He saw what a great, amazing woman you are and became afraid. He's just too scared that he'll actually start to fall in love with you and decided he'd better end it before things started to get too serious."

"You really think so?" Tracey asked, hopeful eyes staring up into Lily's emerald ones.

"I really do," Lily replied, praying that she was at least a little bit accurate. True, that had always been her assumption about Sirius Black. She didn't buy the bad boy, rebel, player act. She knew there had to be something deeper inside of Sirius to make him go through women faster than Picasso does with art supplies.

"Thanks Lily," Tracey said and leaned in to give Lily a giant hug. When she broke away, her eyes were filled with water and tears were threatening to destroy her perfectly applied make-up. "Excuse me for a moment."

Lily sat there and watched as Tracey briskly walked into the bathroom. However, Lily wasn't left alone for very long. Replacing Tracey, Rina soon came out of the bathroom. She smiled at Lily, a characteristic that rarely ever occurred between the two girls.

"Hello Rina," Lily said.

"Hello."

"Are you excited about the party?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Rina replied, a smirk forming at her lips. Today was going to be the happiest day of her life. It was day ten. In a matter of hours, James wouldn't have to put up with Lily anymore. He didn't need to pretend to like her anymore. He could dump, and Rina would be there to mend any wounds left from his horrifying experiences with crazy Lily. Finally, after years of dreaming of this moment, it was finally going to come true. James Potter was going to be hers. He wouldn't long after Lily anymore, he would long after Rina Spears.

"It should be fun, shouldn't it," Lily commented, trying her hardest to find something to say to Rina.

"Very fun," Rina agreed. "So, um, its day ten of losing James Potter, how's that going?"

Lily blushed as she replied, "Actually, I've kind of stopped that… He's really sweet and I kind of started to like him."

"What?" Rina snapped, her smile immediately transforming into a smoldering look.

"Yeah, these past few days I've gotten to really know him, and he's incredible. I don't think I've ever met a guy like James before. He's funny, sweet, intelligent, attractive, and as odd as it sounds, he puts up a good match against me. I know what you're thinking, my last reason is very absurd, but it's true. There's something about him that makes me want to strive to the top of things, whether it be doing homework or having a bantering conversation… It's odd, but I think it's exactly what we both need," Lily confessed.

"You don't say," Rina commented, still angered by Lily's news.

"Every time I see him, my heart melts… And each time he kisses me, it feels like its' the first time. It's like having the excitement of sharing our first kiss over and over again, it never gets dull," Lily shared.

"And he feels the same way?" Rina asked, a slightly disgusted look on her face.

"Well, um, I don't know," Lily replied. Her eyebrows suddenly became knitted closely together as she pondered Rina's words. Did James feel the same way she did?

"Hmm, well, this just got a little awkward, so I think I'm going to go," Rina embarrassedly said. Although deep inside her heart, she felt a flood of relief come over her. There was still hope. She still had the chance of winning James over for herself. He could still hate Lily; after all, he's only dating her because of the bet. Yes, she told herself, everything was going to be fine.

Lily, on the other hand, felt her heart sink. What if James didn't feel the same way about her? What if he liked her enough to date her, but not enough to want a full-fledged lasting relationship? She tried not to think about it, but couldn't help herself. She tried reading her magazine, but it didn't work. Each time she saw a picture of a wizard, she thought of James. It made trying to get her mind off the subject very difficult.

"You ready to go downstairs?" Kelsey asked, ripping Lily away from her dilemma concerning James.

Lily stared at her two best friends; they both wore expecting expressions on their faces, eager to get down to the party. "Um, yeah, let's go."

The three girls descended the steps that led to the Gryffindor common room and Lily's eyes immediately fell on James. He was standing with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. He held a plastic cup full of fruit punch in one hand and his other hand went through his messy black hair. He started laughing at once, as did the other three boys. Lily guessed that one of them just finished telling a humorous story, one that was funny enough to make James throw his head back in laughter.

He wasn't wearing his usual dress code wardrobe. Instead, he wore a simple pair of jeans and a casual t-shirt. It wasn't anything special, but Lily found him very attractive at that moment. There was something about seeing him look so casual that made her heart skip, something about the way his hazel eyes danced across the room.

She watched as Peter nudged him and flipped his head in her direction. James's eyes instantly followed Peter's direction until they landed on Lily. He smiled at her and waved. She lightly lifted up her own hand and twinkled her fingers at him.

Putting his drink down on a nearby table, James began to ease his way to Lily. He glided through the people on the dance floor; couples dancing together, girls slightly shaking their bodies to the beat while standing in a circle with their friends, and boys watching from afar, wondering who they should ask to dance.

"Hey, Lils," James greeted her as he gently slipped his arm around her lower back.

"Hey, have you been here long?"

"No, probably ten minutes or so," he answered. "Do you want anything to drink?" he looked at Lily as he spoke and then broadened his vision to her friends and asked, "Kelsey? Sam? Do you guys want anything?"

"No, I don't trust the drinks here," Lily replied.

"Me neither," both Kelsey and Sam added simultaneously.

"Why not?"

"Do you remember in our third year when someone spiked the punch?" Lily asked.

"Well, yeah…"

"Or how about in fifth year when someone put orange dye in it that lasted an entire week," Sam added.

"Well, that was just funny…."

"Or in second year when someone put in a potion that made the entire thing taste sour and messed with your taste buds for a week?" Kelsey finished.

"Okay, okay, I'll admit that wasn't one of my better pranks," James sheepishly said.

"That was you?" Kelsey questioned.

"Well, not all me," he cautiously replied. "Sirius, Remus, and Peter did it too."

"And the other things, was that you too?" Lily asked, her eyes narrowing in on him as she tried to look upset. The truth, however, was that she was trying not to smile. They were funny pranks, especially since she didn't drink any of the punch back in second or fourth year.

"No, well, not both of them… I'll admit, it was me and the rest of the gang who did the orange dye thing, but I swear we didn't spike the punch in third year," he answered.

"You didn't?" Lily asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"Are you kidding? We still don't know how the alcohol was snuck into the castle. Once in fifth year Sirius tried to bring some in, but the moment we got off the train, it disappeared because one of the castle's stupid magical underage protection spells," James replied, laughing as he spoke.

"Jeez, I thought the four of you were pranksters extraordinaire," Sam teased.

"Well, everyone has their one downfall," he retorted.

"So, are you saying that the punch is entirely safe then?" Lily asked.

"Unless someone else in this place decided that it would be fun to do something to it, yes," James answered.

"In that case, I suppose I'll have some," she replied.

"Alright, and you two, do you want some too?" James asked, looking at Lily's friends as he spoke.

"No thanks, I'm going to go over to the dance floor," Sam replied. "Kelsey, you coming?"

"Yeah," Kelsey said, following Sam as she led them both over to a crowd of seventh year boys standing around the dance floor.

"Okay, so one drink, coming right up," James said as she smiled at Lily and snuck a light kiss on her cheek.

Lily smiled as she watched him walk over to the table full of drinks and sweets. She didn't even notice Remus Lupin approach her until he said her name.

"Oh, Remus, sorry, I didn't see you," she apologized, startled from his voice.

"Sorry to scare you," he replied.

"It's okay," she began. "So, this is some party, huh?"

"Yeah, but I noticed you look a little preoccupied," he said.

"No, I'm not," she defended herself.

"Looking at a certain someone?"

"No," she replied, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, I see him staring off into space looking at you too," he commented, carefully constructing their conversation for his own personal needs.

"He does?" she asked, a little too much excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, but that's what happens when you genuinely care about someone, maybe even love them," Remus softly said.

"What are you implying?"

"Well, Lily, all I'm saying is that you've got a certain glow about you, one that no one else in this entire room possesses. I must say, it's not because of your pretty appearance, it's because there's not a single woman in the room more radiant than a woman in love," he answered.

"No, no, no," Lily said, shaking her head as she spoke. "I'm not in love… I mean, it's not possible to be in love… Me and James, in love? No, we've only been together for ten days, it's impossible to be in love…"

"If you say so," he replied, a smile playing at his lips.

"Remus, I'm not kidding, it's impossible to be in love with someone after only ten days… It's absurd."

"The heart works in odd ways."

"Well, mine doesn't… I don't love him, I can't love him," she stuttered.

He raised his eyebrows as he looked at her, making her feel small beneath his looming presence. "I won't tell him."

"Thank you," she softly replied as he smiled and walked away from her. She bit her lower lip, playing with the soft flesh beneath her teeth. She loved James Potter. It took only ten days, but it was true. She went from hating him to loving him in a matter of ten days. Yet, she knew she couldn't deny it anymore. She was in love with James Potter. It was more than just a crush, more than just an infatuating lust; it was love. She was in love for the first time in her life. She loved him.

James quickly appeared at her side, a large cup of fruit punch in each hand. "Here you are."

"Thanks," she replied, purposely touching his rough skin as she reached for her drink. She took a small sip from it, letting the sweet, cold juice run down her throat. Throughout the entire time that she held her drink to her lips, her eyes never left James. This new realization made her feel like she couldn't break her eyes away from him.

"So, Tracey certainly got over Sirius pretty quick," James commented, nodding his head toward the pretty girl surrounded by a group of five guys.

Lily sighed and watched as Tracey laughed, her eyes twinkling as she lightly placed her fingers on a sixth year's arm. "She just doing it to get back at him."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Lily replied. "I feel bad for her, she actually liked him. She told me that she was going to do anything to make him jealous of her until he begged her to take him back."

"Well, I hate to break it to her, but I don't think Sirius is interested," he said.

"Why?"

"He's over there standing next to Molly Hamill, and it looks like by the end of the evening, she'll be up in our room," James answered, rolling his eyes as he spoke.

Lily glanced around the room until her eyes fell on Sirius Black, looking just as handsome as always. He had a sort of look going on, one that none of the other guys at Hogwarts had. He always wore his hair long and shaggy, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Yet, it always looked good; very badass. She watched as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Molly Hamill stood in front if him, a sweet smile across her preppy face.

"Poor Tracey."

"Yeah, but it'll never last between him and Molly," James commented.

"Why's he like that?" Lily questioned, looking up at James with curious eyes.

"I don't know," he replied. "He does what he wants, when he wants."

Lily shrugged her shoulders and twitched her mouth to the side. She decided she didn't care anymore. Yes, it was sad for Tracey, but it wasn't Lily's problem. She didn't want to spend her night analyzing Sirius Black's behavior. She wanted to have a good time with James.

"You know what, I think it's about time we stop talking about our friends and do something fun," she informed him.

"Do you have something in mind?

"Do you want to dance?" she asked, looking hopefully up at him.

"I don't dance."

"Please," she begged.

"Really, it'll only embarrass you," he replied, trying to convince her that it wouldn't be a good idea.

"But I love dancing," she whined.

"I'm really bad though."

"James, no matter how bad you are, you won't embarrass me," she insisted.

"But I really will."

"James Potter, if you don't get on that dance floor right now, you're not the man I thought you were," she said, folding her arms as she spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"I have never not known a confident, fun-loving, not afraid to take a risk, James Potter."

Groaning, he knew she was right. Despite the fact that he truly knew he would make a fool of himself, he took her hand and led her to the center of the room to join all the other people dancing. Lily smiled and tried her hardest to conceal a squeal.

Since it was a muggle record player that was charmed to work in the common room, all the songs were muggle songs. Very few people actually knew most of the songs, but they were catchy enough that the pure-bred wizards caught on quickly to the styles and rhythms of the songs.

Lily felt her heart leap as she heard her new favorite muggle song burst from the speaker. It was just released due to a very popular American movie, _Animal House. _Lily hadn't seen the movie, but instantly fell in love with the song. _Shout_ burst through the entire common room.

Lily felt a smile rise to her face and led James into the large crowd of people. All of the couples split apart for this song, only standing right next to each other. Not only was this Lily's new favorite song, but she was positive James wouldn't have any problems dancing to it.

It was one large mass of bodies, rapidly dancing from side to side as the fast tempo music played. Heads were bopping to the beat, hips were swaying, and many people were jumping up and down. Lily grabbed onto James's hand, pulling him a little bit closer to her jumping body. She smiled at him, urging him to drop his stiff stance and join her.

Reluctantly, he gave in and found himself jumping with the crowd. He felt much better about his horrible dancing skills once he looked around him and saw that everyone was doing the same thing he was doing. This wasn't really too bad after all. He could dance to songs like this one.

He smiled as he saw Lily's lips move up and down as she sang the words to the song. She looked like she was having such a good time. Her cheeks were becoming pink, her heart was racing, and her curled hair was flying with every step she took. Her grin widened once she saw James smile at her. It was shaping up to be a fun evening.

The music began to get softer, just as the lyrics suggested. James didn't notice it at first, but all of the people around him were crouching down to the floor. It wasn't until Lily reached up and pulled him down did he truly understand that he was supposed to do what the song was telling him to do. They all hovered down close to the ground for a moment, still bopping their heads to the faint tune of the music.

The words soon changed, _"a little bit louder now. A little bit louder now. A little bit louder now…" _Getting the hang of it, James began to slowly rise with the rest of his peers until the song was blasting again, which made everyone stand erect and jump up and down to the music. He felt energized from the song. Dancing was not bad at all. It was actually kind of fun.

Unfortunately, it had to come to an end and the song finished. The entire common room cheered at the end of the fast moving, fun song. It was obviously a favorite of the Gryffindor community. To James's displeasure, a song similar to _Shout_ didn't come on the muggle record player next. Instead it was a slow song. Crap. He did not do slow songs. The look on Lily's face, however, told him that he didn't have a choice behind the matter. She looked like she was having such a good time, and he didn't want to ruin her fun by refusing to dance with her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently placed hers across his neck. They were very close together as they danced, staring straight into each other's eyes. Her emerald eyes seemed to give him strength. He suddenly didn't care if people were staring at him and laughing at his lack of coordination on the dance floor. He was with Lily now, and that's all that mattered.

He felt his heart melt as she leaned in even closer to his chest. He could smell the sweet scent of shampoo in her hair and smiled. He felt like he could spend the rest of his life with the petite woman in his arms. In fact, he couldn't help but think that she might be the one. Of course, it was a very absurd thought. They'd only been dating for a grand total of less than ten days. It was impossible for him to think that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn't even love her.

Or maybe he did. After all, she caught his interest back in fifth year and he was persistently pursuing her ever since then. She made him feel like a better person. She made him smile and laugh. She was an incredible witch. Why wouldn't he love her?

James grinned into her hair, not being able to hide his excitement. He was dancing with the woman he loved. She made dancing seem fun, which before then was a foreign concept to him. But at that moment, he never wanted to stop holding her in his arms.

Neither Lily nor James knew it, but four different sets of eyes were staring at them. Two pairs looked happy, one indecisive, and the final with anger.

From afar, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all gathered into a small section of the room. The three wizards all stared intently on their friend and his girlfriend. It was as if they were studious kids in a classroom, observing the every move of their specimen.

"Are you absolutely positive she loves him?" Sirius asked.

"I already told you, yes," Remus replied. "She basically said the words."

"Even if she didn't, look at them out there. They both look like their in love," Peter added, sighing as he spoke. He felt for happy for the Marauder he idolized, but at the same time felt a pang of jealousy. He wished that he could have what James and Lily shared.

"Well, I still have two and a half hours until I actually have to pay him," Sirius grumpily informed his friends.

"She's not going to change her mind in a matter of hours," Peter commented.

"Well, I know that… but I'm waiting until midnight before I hand over any money," Sirius replied before adding, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a certain someone that I need to attend to." He winked at his two friends before walking over to join Molly Hamill at the snack area of the party, sliding an arm around her waist.

From the other end of the room, Rina Spears stared at Lily and James as she danced. She hated what she saw, like it was some bad horror movie. She despised the smile plastered across James's face. She hated Lily's small hands around his neck. She wanted nothing more than to rip them apart from each other, break the nonexistent gap between their bodies.

Crossing her arms, she had a sour look upon her face. There was no way she was going to allow Lily Evans to continue dating James. He was hers. Lily didn't deserve a wizard like James. Besides, she already had everything else. She was smart, popular, Head Girl, and now she had James. Well, Rina was not going to stand for that. Lily Evans wasn't going to win James for herself this easily. Rina was not backing down without a fight.

Now all she needed was a plan. She needed to break them up, and fast. Scanning the room, she tried her best to think of some ingenious plan to divide Gryffindor's hottest couple. Her eyes went to Sirius Black for a moment and then darted across the room to where Tracey sat with her crowd of sixth year boys. She felt a thin smile curve up on her lips. She knew exactly what needed to be done.

Rina casually walked over to Tracey and motioned for her to break away from her band of followers. She led her to a small, deserted corner of the room. With her arms crossed and a thin smile on her face, Rina said, "Hey Tracey, are you really going to let Black get away with what he did to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at him," she began. "He's over there with Molly Hamill, that no-good fifth year slut. He hasn't even looked over at you, and you're trying to hard to make him want you back."

Tracey got a sad expression on her face and longingly looked at Sirius. Her face quickly changed though, hardening as she watched him lean into Molly Hamill and lay a kiss on her lips. In fact, a hardening expression wasn't quite right for how Tracey felt. Her blood was boiling, that's how mad she was. Who did Molly Hamill think she was, trying to steal Sirius Black away from her?

Once Rina saw how angered Tracey was she gently said, "You know, you could always get back at him."

"Go on," Tracey sternly replied, still focused on Sirius and Molly.

"Well, do you remember that little secret that you shared with me? The one about the bet that James and Sirius made concerning Lily?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't you also say that James would kill Sirius if Lily found out about it?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't Sirius pride his friendship with James above everything else?"

"Yeah."

"Wouldn't telling Lily destroy their friendship?"

"Maybe."

"For a couple weeks?"

"I suppose so."

"So tell her."

"What?"

"Tell Lily about the bet," Rina insisted. "It would be the perfect way to get back at Sirius Black. His best friend would hate him for at the very least a couple weeks. It would leave Sirius devastated."

"I don't know…" Tracey began.

"What is there not to know?"

"Well, Lily really likes James," Tracey answered.

"They'll both get over it," Rina lied. "But James will stay mad at Sirius for a very long time… It would be the perfect payback for what he did to you… Just think of all the pain he's caused you, all the tears you shed for him… Just think about all that work you put into looking amazing tonight, and what's Sirius going to do? He's going to ignore you and go shag Molly Hamill's bloody brains out."

The last comment really got to Tracey. Her hands began to clench into tight fists. Rina was right. Sirius deserved it. He was going to regret the day he ever dumped Tracey. He was going to pay for being such a complete asshole to her.

"Where's Lily?" Tracey asked.

Rina smiled. Her plan was already starting to work. In fact, the hardest part of her plan just worked. She convinced Tracey to tell Lily about Sirius's secret. "Over by the punch bowl," she automatically said. She'd been watching Lily and James's every move. After their slow dance together, they broke away for a couple minutes. James went to talk with Remus and Peter, and Lily went to grab herself something to drink.

Tracey held her head high and walked over to the punch bowl, leaving Rina to grin and walk over to James. Once she reached the food tables, she tapped Lily on the shoulder to get her attention. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Lily looked startled, but grabbed her drink and followed Tracey away from the table. She glanced over to where James was standing and noticed Rina come up next to him. Lily could see Rina's bright red nails all the way across the room, they stood out like blood on a white linen sheet.

"What's up?" Lily asked, bringing her attention back to Tracey.

"I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Okay, now don't get mad," Tracey began. "You're really not going to like what I have to tell you, but I think you deserve to know the truth."

"The truth?" Lily questioned, raising her eyebrows as she spoke.

"James and Sirius made a bet on the first day of school," Tracey said before slowly adding, "About you."

"Me?"

"Sirius bet James fifty galleons that he couldn't make you fall in love with him after ten days of dating," Tracey informed the petite red-haired witch.

Lily looked curiously across the room at James. His expression hardened and he was standing with his arms crossed as Rina talked to him. Lily wasn't concentrating on what Rina was telling him though, she could only think of what Tracey had just said to her. Her brain was trying to register the words, but it was a difficult task.

A bet? Is that why he stuck with her after the horrible things she did to him? Is that the only reason he was still with her now? How could he? "Are you serious?" she asked.

Tracey nodded her head and replied, "Sirius told me when we were still dating… I know I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid of what you'd say." Tracey knew her words were a lie, but wanted her sweet revenge on Sirius Black.

"Oh my God,' Lily said, not talking to anyone. She stumbled over to the wall and slid down it. She forced herself to take in deep breaths and physically told herself when to exhale. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. James Potter made a bet about her. She felt like her entire world was crashing down in front of her. And she thought she loved him. No, she didn't love him anymore. He was exactly like he always was. He didn't change at all. He was still a jerk, bigheaded, and an ass.

Taking a deep breath out, Lily set her drink down on the ground and used her hands to fan herself. She needed air. She needed to escape all of this. She needed to sort out everything. Hoisting herself off the ground, Lily picked up her drink and downed it in one gulp, it was the one time she wished someone had spiked the punch. She then headed toward the portrait hole. She pushed past the dancing couples, past the strange looks she was receiving, and past the comments flying around her. She reached the portrait hole and quickly made a dart outside.

Meanwhile, while Tracey informed Lily of the bet, James was learning new information as well. He heard Rina approach him and she tore him away from his friends. "What is it?" he asked.

"James, I don't know how to say this, but it's time you learned the truth about Lily Evans," Rina began.

"What?"

"Did she ever tell you why she began to date you in the first place?" Rina asked.

"She changed her mind about me," he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"No, no she didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"When she started dating you, she still hated you… James, I'm really sorry about this. I wish what I had to say wasn't true, but it is… Lily started dating you to drive you away. She thought that if she dated you and did mean and crazy things, she'd make you realize how wrong you were for each other," Rina informed him. She had an expression of sympathy across her face, but her heart was overcome with joy. This was the moment she'd been dreaming about.

"No," James said, shaking his head as he spoke. "That can't be true."

"Think about it," she said. "The weird Hogsmeade restaurant, you're pink room, the pet names, the clinginess, and the list goes on."

James ran his hand through his hair. Everything Rina said made perfect sense. He couldn't believe it. He felt so used. He couldn't believe he actually loved Lily. She used him. She never actually cared about him. She only wanted to humiliate him and drive him away. How could she?

He had a puzzled expression on his face. Everything was fake; everything in the past ten days was fake. None of it was real. He felt betrayed, lied to, and heartbroken. It was as if Lily had scratched her way into his chest, ripped out his heart, and stomped on it with her chunky platform shoes.

"James, if there's anything I can do," Rina began and gently placed her bright red painted hands on his arm.

He snatched his arm away though and looked at her as if she had three heads. "I just want to be alone right now."

"Oh, well, okay, but if you need me, let me know," she said, her heart sinking as she spoke. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. He was supposed to come running to her with open arms. He was supposed to realize his love for her. He was supposed to forget all about Lily Evans.

Instead, he stared at the redhead from across the room, his eyes narrowing in on her. He watched as she stormed out of the room, bumping into people without even apologizing for it. Her felt a sour frown appear at his lips as she escaped through the portrait hole. He immediately followed her, bitterness hardening his heart.

Once the portrait hole opened, he stepped out onto the cold floors of the corridor. He saw Lily at once. She stood at the wall, an angry, smoldering look on her face. Her arms were crossed and she was looking up at the ceiling.

"You used me," he exclaimed, not being able to control his anger.

"You made a fucking be about me," she hissed, jumping slightly at the sound of his voice.

"You only dated me to drive me away," he stated, his brow knit closely together. "You practically ruined my life with all your bloody crap you put me through."

"Me?" she hollered. "You bet that I would fall in love with you after ten days."

"Okay, so that may have been bad," he admitted. "But what you did to me was ten times worse… My God, you fucking made up rumors about me, called me gay, made me sign your mum's birthday card, made up fake families, named our future children fucked up names, and so much more… You fucking screwed with my life… What I did to you was so much better than what you did to me."

"You want to bet on it?" she retorted, not impressed at all by his speech.

"Shut up, you know I'm right," he shouted.

"You're bloody insane," she hollered. "You made a bet about me. You only stayed with me so you could win some money! Is that all I was to you, just a piece of money?"

"Shut up," he slowly said, sounding very frustrated.

"Don't tell me to shut up," she snapped, her emerald eyes heatedly piercing into him.

After several minutes of silence, James finally said, "You know what Lily, you wanted to lose a guy in ten days, congratulations, you just did." He shook his head and turned on his heel, muttered the password and started toward the Gryffindor common room.

"No, James, I didn't," she yelled after him. "You can't lose something you didn't have."

He didn't turn around though, he continued walking into the room. He didn't look back at her. He didn't want to see her face again. He was too angry to do anything. He was too hurt to do anything. He walked past everyone in the room, letting them all stare as he furiously strolled over to the boy's staircase and made his way up to his room. He opened the window and threw everything Lily ever brought into the room outside. He didn't ever want to see anything that related to Lily Evans ever again.

Meanwhile, Lily still stood outside the Gryffindor portrait hole. She leaned her head back and allowed it to slam against the cold walls. She slid down the cold surface, not stopping until she was sitting. The wall felt good against her head, slightly cooling it from the fuming anger she felt. She tightly blinked her eyes, forcing herself to conceal her tears.

Little did she know, but she just witnessed the greatest thing that ever happened to her walk straight out of her life…

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**Author's Note 2: **So there's Day 10! Please don't be too mad at me! The stories not over quite yet, still one more chapter to go! Also, I'm not actually sure if people began to dance to that song like that in the late 70's or 80's (the movie came out in 1978), and I'm pretty sure it was an American thing, but I don't care. Anyways, REVIEW! It'll makes the writing process easier for me, which means faster updates for all of you!


	15. Detention

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to Rylie D, Lillith Potter, Eve1980, puppyluva, koolkatkt123, asianhomiequeen101, born-to-perform, featherfinger, Greekchic, onesmartgoalie, Sarah12345, JeNnIfEr88, Dancer girl923, xxquidditchjunkiexx, -Scp-, mrspadfoot4eva, rayolis, Queenofrootloops, pyscho-pyro-shrink, Miss Myrtle360, Sam's Firefly, Mrs LilyGirl, ourlittlesecret7, Katie, magical ex-auror hobbit., thehalfbloodprincess, Beatriz Evans, Untamed Loner, hpottersgirl, potterchik, zuska1985, lovin potter, Asian-Novelist, 1ss2cos3poa4gof5ootp6hbp, sillymonkey13, reviewer, siriusforeva, EboniteEvans, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, Irma, Marauders4me, Hypatia Cade, dancechic12345, jess, RubyBinds, lizziee, piratequeen24, JPx3LE, Washed Soul, addictedtocookies, writersblock777, teengirl01, serindraxx, rowling-wannabe, Allie, hotblacknesss, SingDownTheSunAndUpTheStars, Fiery Flower, snoopykitty, and ThePranksterQueens for reviewing! You are all the most incredible people in the entire world!

Okay, so I am very sorry that I haven't updated before now. I know it's been about two weeks, which is a very long time for me! I do have an excuse though; I was away on vacation and didn't have computer access. Also, I lied in the last chapter when I said this one was going to be the final one. I need one more after this—hope you don't mind! Okay, so I'm finished blabbing on, so Happy Reading!

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Lily didn't know how she got back into her dorm room last night. She didn't recall Sam and Kelsey finding her in the hallway, trying to ask her what was wrong. She couldn't remember them levitating her through the common room at two o'clock in the morning, when the party finally came to an end. She didn't know how they dressed her in her pajamas and tucked her into bed. She couldn't remember anything about last night, just what occurred between her and James.

As she lay in bed, the warm sunny rays shining through the curtains, her tears started up again. Soft droplets of salty tears glimmered down her cheeks, painting a trail across her face. Still, Lily didn't sit up from her bed, nor did she open her eyes. She just wanted to lie there and escape from the world.

Never in her life had she ever felt so betrayed. James Potter made a bet about her. He bet money that she would fall in love with him after ten days of dating. Sadly, Lily knew that she did love him. She wished she didn't though. If she didn't love him, she would have been insulted by the bet and very disgusted with James. But now, with attached feelings, Lily felt even worse than she would have otherwise. Now, she not only felt insulted and was disgusted with him, but she also could physically feel her heart sinking.

She gave him her heart and he stomped on it. He only stayed with her because of some stupid bet, he was only with her to win some money. She gave him everything too. She gave him her heart, her mind, and her body. In each aspect, he used her.

He used her heart to win money. It was a purely selfish act on his own behalf. He didn't once consider that it might hurt her. He used her mind with his own mind games. His intellect and charm tricked her mind into craving to be with him. He used her body most of all though. He performed an act of love with her, one that Lily had only experienced once before and saved for only people that she truly cared about.

Lily pressed her eyelids into her skull, trying to erase the memory of last night from her eyes and mind. However, she had no such luck with that. She could perfectly see Tracey approach her. She saw Tracey's lips moving, a distant sound coming from them. The words were scrambled in her mind, only catching glimpse of them. "Made a bet… about you…fifty galleons… love… ten days…"

How could she have been so stupid? Why didn't she see it coming? Why else would he have put up with her stupid and obnoxious antics? Why didn't she see through his act before? But most of all, why did she let herself fall in love with him?

All of her friends had warned her about him. They all reminded her of what she already knew. James Potter was a jerk. He treated women badly. He only puts the charm on to get what he wants. He's stuck-up and bigheaded. He admires himself more than anyone else in the world. James Potter is the only man that Lily ever truly hated, but she let her guard down. She fell in love with him.

Suddenly, Lily opened her eyes. She wasn't sure why, seeing as no one was in the dorm room at that time and no sound could be heard. Yet, she opened them, revealing blood shocked, watery green eyes. She rolled onto her side and looked into the room. She could see the sun blaring through the cracks in the curtains. Glancing at the clock that was on her nightstand, she noticed it was four o'clock in the afternoon. She hadn't left bed at all. She was too depressed. In fact, she never felt like leaving her bed.

Staring off into space, she started to recall her incident with James last night. Her heart sank deep into her chest as she vividly saw the expression on his face. Never in her seven years at Hogwarts had she ever seen him make that face. He looked angry, as if the devil had possessed him. There was also a soft side of him too, one that showed how hurt he truly was. It was that look that made Lily feel awful about what she did to him.

Yet, as awful as what she did to him was, she knew that his bet was much worse. His bet involved money and hurt feelings. Hers only involved hurt feelings. However, she knew that James had loved her since fifth year and she still played with his heart and contorted it, making him despise her throughout the ten days. Maybe what she did to him was just as bad as what she did to him… She groaned, making the only sound that left her body since her loud sobs the previous night.

Why did everything have to be so messed up? Why did this have to happen? Why did she need to go through with her stupid plan? Why did James have to make a bet with his friends?

She fiercely turned around in her bed, now looking into the corner of the wall. Still, the sun's rays shone into it, illuminating the white walls. She groaned again and slammed the covers above her head, locking in the darkness from his blankets.

Even with the blankets covering her head, she could still hear James's annoyed, yet angry words. "You know what Lily, you wanted to lose a guy in ten days, congratulations, you just did." Those words stung her like a bee, no not a bee, a wasp. It was an unbearable pain; one that she knew would last forever.

What really upset her about his words was that they were completely true. Her goal from day one of their relationship had been to drive him away. She wanted nothing to do with him. She only wanted him to lose interest in her.

Suddenly, she heard a noise; the creak of the door being opened. She tightly shut her eyes and wiped her eyelids dry to cover her tears. She hoped that whoever it was would just leave her alone.

"Lils, come on, get up, please," Sam said, a desperate tone on her lips.

Lily didn't say anything, nor did she move. She didn't even breath, holding her breath to act as if she wasn't even there.

"Lils, we just want to help you," Kelsey added, the same tone that Sam had was present in her voice.

Still, Lily didn't budge.

"Come on, Lils," Sam begged. "Just talk to us… We're worried about you… It after four on a Saturday. You're usually up by nine."

Still nothing.

"We don't have to go anywhere or anything, we just want to talk. It doesn't even have to be about what happened, it can be about the weather," Kelsey said. "Besides, you must be starving and we snuck some food out of the Great Hall for you."

No response.

"Lily Evans, do not make me use magic on you," Sam threatened, starting to get annoyed. "I know you're awake and I know you can hear everything we're saying."

Nothing.

"Evigilo," Sam said as she pointed her wand at Lily. In an instant all of the covers were stripped from Lily's bed, leaving a petite redhead curled up into a ball and hiding.

"There, now you have to get up," Kelsey exclaimed.

Lily groaned again, but rolled over to face her friends and opened her eyes. "Alright, alright," she whined. "I'm up."

"Now sit up," Kelsey instructed.

Lily did as she was told and grumbled, "What did you bring me."

"We snuck out ice cream sundaes from the Great Hall," Kelsey replied.

Lily stared at the vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, hot fudge, and a cherry. She felt her eyes begin to swell up again and a flood of tears exploded from her eyes. She groaned and leaned over on her side, burying her head in her scarlet colored pillow.

"Lils, what's wrong?" both Sam and Kelsey asked as at once.

"James took me to the kitchens to get ice cream sundaes the other night," she sobbed, remembering how perfect the evening had been. She would do anything to get that night back. At the time, she and James were happy together. No one knew of any bets or plans… life was simple then. She missed it.

"Oh dear," Kelsey stated. "Okay, we're getting rid of them."

"Yes we are," Sam agreed and walked over to the window. She narrated her actions to Lily as she walked across the room. "Okay, I'm at the window. I'm opening the curtains and now the window is open. The ice creams are out the window… Oh shit, I just hit someone… Shit, it was Filch… Fuck."

Lily allowed a slight smile to form at her lips, despite the fact that she was trying to hide it. Although, she had to admit it, it was funny. Filch getting nailed by three flying sundaes was quite a humorous sight.

"God I hope he didn't see that it was me," Sam muttered as she came back to the bed and sat on its end. "Is that a smile I see?"

"No," Lily lied, looking down and away from her friends.

"I think it is," Kelsey remarked. "Do you want us to do it again, we can throw Rina's make-up kit out the window and pray that it hits him upside the head."

Lily smiled again, but replied, "No, that would just be mean."

"He's kind of mean," Sam sweetly remarked, desperately trying to make Lily feel better. She hated seeing her best friend in such distress, especially about a boy.

Lily sighed and ignored Sam's comment. She leaned back, allowing her head to rest the cool wall behind her, instantly chilling her skull. "Why did this have to happen to me?" The question wasn't directed toward anyone in particular, it was more of a comment.

"I'm sorry, Lils," Kelsey gently said, bringing her hand to Lily's long red hair and stoking her fingers through it.

"Do you want to tell us exactly what happened?" Sam carefully pried.

Lily tightly shut her eyes and the images came flooding back into her mind. She saw his angry words leave his lips, the hurt look across his face. She tried desperately to conceal her tears, but couldn't do it. She felt them tremble down her cheeks, leaving a salty trail.

Both Kelsey and Sam tried their best to console their friend, but there was no use. No matter what they did, the tears continued to fall until her eyes were all dried up. Finally, Lily gathered up enough energy to look at her friends and whisper, "If you don't mind, I'd really like to be alone right now."

---

James sat up in his bed, a stern look upon his face. He was staring at the wilted plant that Lily gave him, their "Love bush" as she had named it. It was the only remaining trace of Lily in his room, everything else was long gone out the window. This one object, however, he must have overlooked. For this afternoon, in his dorm room it was just him and the love bush.

He stared at it with pure disgust. At first he thought that relating a bush to love was a stupid idea. After all, love and gardening were complete opposites. There was nothing remotely similar about them, despite what Lily may have thought in her own little universe.

Now, however, he saw it perfectly. Clear. The plant was dead and their relationship was dead. It was as simple as that.

Staring at the wilted leaves, he felt his hands clench into tight balls. He slammed one fist down on the bed and slammed his head against his pillow. Why was everything so wrong? Why did Lily have to ruin his life? Why did she have to break his heart?

He pressed his eyes shut and slammed his fist down on the bed again, this time with a much harder force. He felt the mattress shake beneath his body, and he was certain the floor shook too. He never felt so betrayed in his life. He thought he loved her. No, he knew he loved her. Yet, she broke his heart with one stomp.

Lily Evans was the girl of his dreams, the only woman he ever truly desired. He spent years pursuing her and after several harsh rejections, he didn't give up. Throughout his life, he was certain of one thing; that he and Lily Evans should be together. It was his one goal in life, to be with her. He knew it was right too. It wasn't just some manly macho thing, something he had to prove. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that she was special. There was something about her, even at eleven, that was curious to him. That curiosity grew to attraction, which quickly evolved into love in fifth year. Ever since then, he knew he belonged with Lily. He knew it was written in the stars that he and Lily should be together.

Now, however, his dreams, wishes, and instincts were all ruined. He and Lily didn't belong together. If she truly cared for him, she would have never made that stupid plan. He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. Why was he so stupid? Why did he actually think that he and Lily belonged together?

He should have known better. Sure, on paper they looked like a great couple. He was Head Boy, Quidditch captain, popular, and received outstanding grades. She was Head Girl, popular, smart, beautiful, and one of the kindest people to ever enter Hogwarts. Yet, they were an awful match. He was the one person that she despised, and he knew it. Why did he actually believe that her opinion could change? Why was he so stupid?

He let out a large groan. He felt insulted by Lily's plan. She knew that he cherished the ground she walked on, yet dated him to drive him away anyways. She knew what she was getting into. She knew that it would break his heart in the end, yet she did it anyways.

It was the one thing she did in life that took away from her outstanding paper-like qualities. It was not an act that a Head Girl would do, nor was it something nice girls would do. It was a ruthless action.

What angered him even more was the fact that he was too blind to even see it coming. If he was in his right mind, he would have been able to easily see Lily's plan. It was all to obvious now. Why else would she have dated him? Why else would she have been so horrible to him? It all added up now. Everything was fake and he should have been able to see it. He cursed himself for not being able to sense her goals all along, knowing it was a weak aspect of his personality.

He let out a deep sigh, this one much more relaxed than his previous angry groan. With his eyes shut, he clearly envisioned last night's events. He could see the anger and sadness present in her emerald eyes. Yet, the moment he saw her sad expression across her kips, he opened his eyes. He couldn't bear to see it. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to think she may have been hurt by the situation. Lily screwed him over, not the other way around. He was completely innocent in this matter. The bet was much more reasonable than her stupid plan, right?

James didn't have time to contemplate the matter, for at that moment his dorm room door burst open. The person standing across the room from him was not who he expected to see. He was certain the confusion written across his face showed his emotions. He wasn't looking at Sirius, Remus, or Peter. Instead, Rina stood in his room, a light smile on her lips.

"Hi James," she softly said.

"Hi," he muttered.

"How're you doing?" she asked, walking closer to his bed as she spoke. He noticed that she shut the door behind her, leaving him trapped alone in the room with her. She approached his bed in a matter of seconds and sat down on it, edging too close for comfort next to James.

"Fine."

"Are you sure?" she sweetly asked, running her hands through his messy hair. He wanted to launch at her and escape from her fingernails. He didn't want her touching him, especially not his hair. For some odd reason, he felt like it was off limits to all girls. It had been Lily's to pull at and run her hands through. He wasn't ready to let anyone else take over that job.

"Yeah."

"I'm really sorry about what happened," she said, leaning down to reveal a line of cleavage. It was obvious that she wanted him to look at her and marvel at her revealing outfit, but James wasn't in the mood. He was too depressed to care about girls right now.

"Whatever."

"No, James, don't say whatever," Rina replied. "Lily Evans was a bitch to you, a cold-hearted bitch. I, for one, am refusing to speak to her because of her behavior. I'm ashamed to be roommates with her."

"Don't say that," he snapped, looking fiercely into Rina's eyes. He didn't know why Rina's false comments got to him. They shouldn't have. He wasn't supposed to care about Lily anymore; she betrayed his trust and broke his heart. Yet, coming from Rina, the words truly bothered him.

"Sorry," she muttered, stunned at his outburst. She paused for a moment before regaining her train of thought and in a sexy voice said, "You know, I'm here for you… If you need anything at all, I'm at your service."

"Okay."

"And I mean anything," Rina said, raising her eyebrows slightly as she spoke.

James looked at her, disgust in his eyes. He couldn't believe she was actually coming onto him. He was in the worst romantic crisis of his life, and Rina Spears was flirting with him. Not only was it an insult to him, but he felt like it should be an insult to her as well. Did she have any self-respect at all?

"You know what, there is something you can do for me," he sternly informed her. "You can get the fuck out of my room and away from me." His expression didn't change throughout his entire speech. He stared at her with cold eyes and an empty heart.

Rina looked stunned at his words, as if she had been slapped across the face. She stood up from her seat on the bed and stared at James as she edged away from him and out the door. She didn't say anything as she left, but felt her heart sink. All she wanted was for him to like her. She just wanted one chance and she was sure this was the perfect opportunity. After all, Lily was out of the picture now. Rina was willing to give herself up completely to James, and he threw her away like yesterday's trash. Still, she wasn't going to give up. She needed to be with James. She wanted to be with him.

---

Later that day, Lily could still be found in her bed. She hadn't gotten up all day long, nor did she plan to. She did eat some food, leftovers that Sam and Kelsey brought her, but that was it. For the most part she lounged in bed and thought about James.

Tracey eventually found herself wandering up to the dorm room. She sympathetically looked at Lily and attempted to flash her a small smile, but couldn't find one in her heart. Lily looked too miserable. Instead, she sat down on the edge of Lily's bed and asked, "You doing okay?"

"I don't know," Lily answered. She peered into Tracey's eyes and saw something that wasn't present in her two best friend's eyes. It was a look of knowing, a look of understanding. For some unknown reason, it was a look that made Lily feel as if she could open up to her roommate. "A part of me hates him so much for doing it, but at that same time I miss him."

"I know," Tracey replied, shrugging her eyebrows close together. "Men can be such pigs."

"Why did he have to make that stupid bet?"

"I wish I could tell you a better answer than because men are stupid, but that's the best I've come up with," Tracey responded, slightly smiling as she spoke.

Lily smiled back, but only half-heartedly. "I really thought he changed," she admitted.

After pausing for a moment, Tracey stared Lily in the eye and asked, "Would you have liked it better if I didn't tell you the truth?"

"I don't know… No, I'm glad you told me," she answered, changing her mind as she spoke. "I'm just mad that he would even do something like that."

"You have every right to be upset."

"And then he goes off on a tangent saying what I did was worse, which is totally unfair," Lily rambled on.

"I'm sorry."

"And do you know what the worse part is?" Lily questioned, peering out at the dark sky as she spoke.

"What?"

"If we were still together right now, I'd be with him… He was planning on making me a nice dinner, just the two of us… And he was going to cook for me and everything. I was really looking forward to it too," she admitted.

Tracey gave her a sympathetic look and felt a stab of guilt in her stomach. She wasn't sure why she felt so guilty all of a sudden, but it hit her very hard. Lily loved James, she could easily see that. Yet, Rina had convinced her to break Lily and James apart. In a way, Tracey was responsible for the misery that her friend was feeling.

Tracey was about to say something to Lily when Rina stormed into the room, slamming the door shut behind her. "Tracey, we need to talk now." The force that she said "now" with was almost scary.

Biting her lower lip, Tracey looked between Lily and Rina, unsure who needed her attention more. She watched as Lily curled up beneath her covers again, completely ignoring their previous conversation. Rina still peered at her with beady, impatient eyes. Her hands were on her hips and her foot began to tap against the carpeted floor.

Sighing, Tracey got up and walked toward Rina. She looked back at Lily and mouthed "I'm sorry," but Lily turned her head at once. Once again, she felt a stab of guilt. She truly couldn't understand why, after all, Rina was her best friend. She was supposed to be there for her through thick and thin.

"Come on," Rina snapped, leading Tracey to a deserted area of the girl's staircase, away from anyone who might be listening. "I don't understand what's happening, the plan is failing."

"What plan?" Tracey questioned.

Rina looked at her as if she had three heads before replying, "My plan to win over James's heart… what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Tracey stuttered before focusing her brain on the situation. Yes, she could easily recall it now. Rina was madly in love with James Potter and had been for years. She did everything in her power to make James like her, but always failed. Now though, it was a sure plan. Once James was a wreck, Rina was going to swoop in and mend his broken heart. He would surely fall for her in the process.

"He told me to go away," Rina blurted out, a sense of urgency in her voice. "Why is he doing this?"

"Maybe he still cares for Lily," Tracey suggested.

Rina groaned before replying, "No he doesn't. He's mad at her, he doesn't want anything to do with her… He's supposed to come running for me."

"Maybe if you give him some time to adjust he'll realize what a great person you are," Tracey said. "Just give him some time and then he'll start liking you. He just needs healing time, alone."

"You know what, you're right," Rina exclaimed. "Healing time, why didn't I think of it before? It's so obvious… I'll write him a letter in a couple days, apologizing for my actions. It'll show a level of truce, a growing friendship. He won't be able to resist that. We'll be friends. And after that, he'll start to love me…I know he will."

"Sounds like a plan," Tracey replied, smiling at her best friend as she spoke. However, her mind and instinct weren't relaying the same message. Something inside her knew that Rina and James would never be a couple. Yes, she did believe that they would be friends, but never anything more. Something about them together just wasn't right.

---

The following day, James sat in his dorm room with his three best friends, a queasy look upon his face. He had thirty minutes until his detention with Professor McGonagall. Usually, he didn't mind detention, but this one was going to be very painful. It was going to be the first time he faced Lily Evans since their big break-up two nights ago.

"Remus, please, I'm begging you," James whined. "We still have a little bit of polyjuice potion left and you don't have any homework left to do for tomorrow. You don't have any excuse at all."

Remus gave him a doubtful look. "No excuse? How about the fact that you're the one that got yourself into this bloody mess and now you have to deal with it."

"But I don't want to… I can't face her," James admitted.

"I'm not doing it," Remus replied. "I'm not going to pretend to be you just so that you don't have to see her. It's not fair to me or Lily."

"Who cares if it's fair to her," James snapped, sudden rage coming over him. "She's a fucking wrench."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Sirius asked, looking up from his Potions essay.

"No," James answered.

"Come on, you did something just as bad as she did," Remus reasoned.

"Wait a second, Moony you can't be saying that," James announced, jumping to his feet. "A few days ago you were all for the bet, thinking I wouldn't win at all. So you can't say it was bad."

"Well, when we made the bet I honestly didn't think she would ever love you," Remus replied.

"Why not?" James asked, getting very defensive.

"Well, for starters she hated you a few weeks ago," Remus answered. He sensed James's anger and subsided the conversation concerning the hatred. "But obviously I was wrong… She did love you…"

"Until she found out," Sirius added.

"Shut up," James growled as he slammed back down onto his bed. "You really won't go for me, Moony?"

"Nope."

"Damn."

Moments later James slowly made his walk down to McGonagall's classroom. He carefully looked over his shoulder, trying his best to avoid Lily Evans. Before leaving the dorm room, he took out the Marauder's Map and plotted her movements, making sure he wouldn't run into her. He even decided to take an obscure pathway to get to the Transfiguration classroom, just in case.

When he finally arrived at the classroom, he noticed that Lily was already there. She casually leaned against one of the student desks, her arms crossed in front of her. James noticed that the brightness that she usually brought to a room was completely gone, no traces found anywhere. She looked paler than usual as well, as if she hadn't seen daylight in a week. Her hair was a disaster as well; red hair peeked out from her messy bun, sticking out in wild directions. In an odd way, it almost looked like a red version of his own hair.

"Evans," he said, painfully nodding in her direction.

"Potter," she responded after tightly blinking her eyes shut for a brief moment.

"Where's McGonagall?" he asked, trying to find something to say.

"I don't know," she blandly replied, her eyes darting to the ground. She wanted nothing more than to escape that moment, anything to break their awkward silence. Yet, nothing came. The two teens just stood there, standing on opposite sides of the room and desperately looking down at the floor or up at the ceiling.

Finally, after five minutes (which felt like eternity) McGonagall turned the handle of her classroom door and entered the room. Trailing behind her were two very large buckets, water sloshing out of the sides.

"Good evening Miss Evans, Mister Potter," she said, smiling at her two students.

"Hello," they both muttered.

"Cheer up," McGonagall said, looking stunned to see the Head Boy and Girl so solemn. "It's only detention, it's not the end of the world... Besides, you have each other to work with."

Both Lily and James were very disheartened by McGonagall's words. They knew she meant well, but the two students were dreading the night.

"Alright, your task tonight is to clean up this room," she announced. "Without magic."

"Without magic?" James asked, a stunned look on his face.

"Yes, Mister Potter, without magic. You'll scrub every inch of this room the muggle way, with sponges, soap, water, and mops… I'm going to go to the faculty room, so if you need me, that's where I'll be. And don't think that you can use your wands here once I'm gone. I've charmed the room to decline magically activity of that sort," McGonagall informed her students. With that said, she left the room, leaving the two students in an awkward position. Neither one of them knew what to do or say.

"So, um, I suppose we should get to work then," James finally said, not looking at Lily while he spoke.

"Yeah," she agreed as she grabbed one of the buckets of supplies and headed toward the blackboard.

They both worked in silence, although not the comfortable silence they were used to with each other. This silence was very awkward and the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. Despite the fact that both Lily and James had plenty of work to do, their minds weren't occupied at all. They could only think of how unbearable their current situation was.

An hour and a half passed; still neither of them said anything. James stole a glance at Lily and watched as she scrubbed one of the tables up front. Throughout their entire cleaning process, James stuck to one side of the room, Lily to the other. They never once crossed paths. He watched as she forcefully ran her sponge up and down on one spot of the table, as if it were her goal in life to wash off the paint. A while ago, she tied her hair back into a messy bun, moving it away from her emerald eyes. James could tell that she was tired and wanted a break. Her stance was loosening up, not as stiff as it had been when they first came in contact that night.

Gathering up his courage, James finally said, "Do you want to take a break?"

Her head snapped up and she stared at him with piercing eyes. It was a look that he hadn't seen in over ten days, not since before they started dating. Although, he wondered if you could really call it dating. After all, she only wanted to drive him away.

"I'm not a slacker," she coldly replied. She didn't want to sound so mean, but it was the only way she knew to cover her emotions. In reality, she wanted the past two days to disappear. She wanted her life back when she was happy with James. Everything was perfect then… now she was miserable.

"And I am?" he asked, giving her a doubtful look.

"Yes."

The next thing he knew, James was slipping out words that he would soon regret. He didn't know why he said it, but it rolled off his tongue so easily at that moment. "If I'm the slacker, then why'd I stay with you for as long as I did?"

Her lips pursed together and her entire face seemed to tighten up. She looked as if he had just slapped her across the face. "I don't know James, maybe we should bet on it."

"Would you just get over that," he snapped. His compassion that he had felt for her moments ago was vanishing. He wanted nothing more than to ignore her again. He wanted to escape from the memories of the worst days of his life.

"You're the one that brought it up," she countered. She flung her sponge back into the soapy bucket of water and her hands flew to her hips. She gave him a look that said, 'don't mess with me.'

"I didn't mention it exactly," he retorted, now throwing his own sponge in the bucket. "I only said that we dated, I didn't mention anything about bets."

"But you were thinking it," she argued, taking a step closer to him.

"So what if I was thinking it," he shouted. "Of course I'm going to think about it. You bloody messed with my life."

"Me?" she asked, a startled look across her face. "You made a bet about me!"

"So what? It was simple bet. If Tracey hadn't fucking told you about it, you wouldn't have a clue. It didn't mess with you at all," he hollered.

"You leave Tracey out," Lily interrupted.

He ignored her comment and continued his rant, "You on the other hand, you were awful. You made my life Hell. You wouldn't let me hang out with my friends, you made my entire room girly, and you planned our future together. If you don't consider any of those Hellish, then believe me, I've got plenty more."

Lily stared at him with disgust. Of course, what she did was bad, but he made a bet about her. She felt insulted by that. "You're an ass."

"Me?" he questioned. He shook his head slightly before walking a little closer to her. He was now standing in front of one of the student desks, Lily on the other side. Her hands were still on her hips, his were leaning against the black surface of the table.

The enraged look in his hazel eyes made Lily's face twitch slightly, revealing a small amount of fear. She had never seen him like this before, not even the other night when he was yelling at her during their break-up.

"You knew I loved you, you knew it from day one," he angrily said, yet his voice was surprisingly calm. It was slow and quiet, yet furiousness was present. "But you did it anyway. You broke my heart. You were mean, annoying, and dishonest to me… Everything that I did when I was with you was real. Sure, there were times when you drove me crazy, but when you were acting normal, I loved you. I'm not going to deny it… You, however, broke my heart. Everything was fake."

"Stop it," she softly said, his words vibrating inside her mind.

"The laughs, the conversations, the kisses… those were all fake," he continued on, ignoring her plea.

"Stop it," she said again, slamming her hands down on the table.

The sound broke him from his train of thought and he looked up and stared at her. He still had the dark look across his face, although now it spread throughout his entire body.

"Just stop," she repeated, blinking her eyes tightly.

Despite her words, he felt the urge to finish talking. "The Room of Requirement… that was all fake too, wasn't it? It was all part of your little act. You give a guy what he desires, the one true scene of love, but then you take it away. You rip it from him; tell him it was all just a little game… I'll tell you something though Lily, that wasn't funny."

Her expression changed to disbelief. Was he really accusing her of not putting her heart and sole into that one night they shared together? She couldn't believe he would sink so low. Her chest was heaving slightly, her breaths short and heavy. How could he?

"Fuck you," she bitterly said, once again hiding her emotions with anger. She walked to one side of the table, ready to storm out of the room. She had enough of James Potter for one night. She couldn't handle being with him anymore. It didn't matter that she wasn't finished with her detention. She needed air. She needed to breathe.

His rough hand grabbed her though, pulling her small body close to his. His grip was tight, and she could feel her skin bruising as each second passed. Lily tried her best not to allow her salty tears escape. She didn't want him to see her give in. She didn't want him to see her weakness.

"Don't think you can leave me with cleaning up all this shit," he growled, narrowing his eyes at her.

She truly felt scared. "Let me go," she whined, not bothering to hide her fear.

As her words reached his ears, he looked down at her struggling face. The tight grip loosened at once, and Lily stumbled away from him. He stared down at his hand, wondering how he was actually capable of causing her so much pain.

Lily looked up at him from across the room, her breathing still heavy. Her eyes met his again, still showing that same fear. His eyes, however, conveyed a different emotion. He was no longer stone cold; instead, he looked afraid as well.

He watched her leave the room, hesitantly running away from him. She looked back one last time to see him leaning against the table. He continued to look down at his hands, a puzzled look across his face.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Hi all! Okay, so I lied before. This is not the last chapter. I was writing it, and actually have more than just this part. But then I was like, wow, these don't belong in the same chapter. So, I stopped and decided to post this now. The rest, which will be the final chapter, will be posted shortly. Please review! 


	16. Letters

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to JeNnIfEr88, Sam's Firefly, cerdinalz, CrazzyD', Whitelight72, Untamed Loner, pyscho-pyro-shrink, piggy396, Katie, born-to-perform, Miss Myrtle360, koolkatkt123, xxquidditchjunkiexx, Lillith Potter, mrspadfoot4eva, lizziee, potterchik, ameo, ourlittlesecret7, Rylie D, (-),naturalnin, litchisaretoosweet, DarthRoden aka Carl, RubyBinds, AddictedtoCookies, Lover4oneshots, Aria Sparks, Disaster Strikes Again, ThePranksterQueens, JPx3LE, lovin potter, EboniteEvans, bananas, Lauren the Oxymoron, serindraxx, evahyoung, asianhomiequeen101, onesmartgoalie, Asian-Novelist, siriusforeva, prongsxlilyflower, jess, Jessi-Black33, zuska1985, JeminaDOTM5, thehalfbloodprincess, Mara Valdez, Eriskay, coffeegirl123, Sarah12345, LCH8292, A.M.bookwrm247, and NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic for reviewing! You are all amazing! Seriously, some of the comments that you all leave brighten up my day! You are such sweeties! Okay, and now on for the final chapter, for real this time!

* * *

Three days after Lily and James's incident in detention, James still found himself studying his hands. Had he really been capable of hurting Lily like that? True, his grip only left a slight bruise, but it shocked him nonetheless. He never imagined that he possessed enough anger to ever hurt Lily. After all, she was his one true love. She was the one girl that he pictured himself growing old with, as silly as it sounds.

The fear in her eyes made him shudder every time he pictured the situation. It was a look he prayed he would never see again; a look of pure horror. It was as if he were Voldermort and she an innocent victim. He shook his head, not wanting to picture it any longer. He hated seeing it. Despised seeing it.

"You okay, mate?" Sirius asked, placing a hand on James's shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Fine," James lied, shocked to see that he wasn't alone in his room.

"You sure?" Sirius questioned, his face conveying that he didn't believe a word James said.

"I'm just thinking about the other night," he honestly answered.

"Evans," Sirius stated. "Of course you're thinking about Evans."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, James, it's just that the amount of time and energy you put into thinking about her, it's like you love her or something," Sirius replied, trying his best to hide a smirk.

"Love?" James questioned. "You've got to be kidding me… I don't love her, at least not after what she did to me… I can't love her. I'm too humiliated to love her."

"Prongs, I'm going to say this as your best friend," Sirius began. "You are absolutely bonkers."

"What?"

"If you can't see that Lily Evans was perfect for you, you must be completely daft. I mean, honestly mate, how often are you going to come across a witch as smart, beautiful, funny, and charming as Evans? Not to mention one that you can have a good time with," Sirius responded.

"Now you're bonkers," James retorted. "So what if she does have some good qualities about her, what she did was wrong and I can't forgive her for it."

Sirius sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingers, "James, you need to let it go. You were both equally stupid in this. Sure she tried to drive you away by dating you, but you made a bet about her and only stayed dating her because of the stupid bet. Both of those are idiotic. You need to let it go."

"The bet was your idea," James accused.

"I know, but I didn't think she would actually date you."

"Jeez, thanks," he sarcastically replied.

"Well, it's true… And she wouldn't have ever dated you if it weren't for her stupid plan, so really it all worked out well. But that's not the point. The fact of the matter is that you love her, you wouldn't be acting this way if you didn't. You need to put her plan and your bet in the past and talk to her," Sirius informed his friend.

"I don't love her," James stubbornly argued.

"Yes you bloody do!"

"No I don't," he persisted. "And even if I did, but I don't, she doesn't love me. She got so mad at me during detention that she stormed out."

"Only because you were being a dick."

"She still hates me."

"Maybe if you would just talk to her, you'd find out differently," Sirius suggested.

"No, I know for a fact that she hasn't forgiven me," James replied. "Besides, I don't love her and I don't care about her either. It doesn't matter that she seemed perfect for me, or that we had fun together… I don't love her, I really don't."

Even as the words left James's lips, he knew they were dishonest. Of course he loved Lily, he wouldn't have dreaded over their detention together so much if he didn't love her. She was perfect for him. She was everything and more he always dreamed of. But he couldn't go and talk with her as Sirius suggested. He was certain that Lily didn't love him, and he wasn't about to go and make a fool of himself now. He'd already been humiliated enough.

---

"How're you doing Lils?" Kelsey asked as she approached Lily's bed. It had been three days since the detention incident, which only worsened Lily's sadness. Other than class, she didn't leave her room at all. She only sat on her bed, putting her pajamas on immediately after class, and buried herself in her homework. It was a nice distraction away from the real world, away from her thoughts about James. The only bad thing about it, however, is the fact that once she completed her work, she was left in solitude to play over the events in her mind.

It was those times when she would do one of two things. One of them being locking herself in the bathroom, the shower to be exact. She would stand there, allowing the hot water to wash away her sorrows. Lily often went there when she needed a place to cry. It was ideal because with the harsh sound of the water hitting the tub's floor, the sounds of her cries were drowned out. Her other option was to lie in bed, her covers pulled high over her head. This way, she could pretend she was invisible, hiding from the world.

Today, she was doing option two. The red, luscious sheets were hiding her pale face. Kelsey had to yank them backwards to reveal Lily's puffy red eyes. She hated seeing Lily like this, but didn't know what to do to help her sobbing friend.

"Go away," Lily muttered.

"Lily, please get out of bed," Kelsey pleaded. "Or at least tell me what happened to made you so upset."

That was the other thing. Lily told her friends about the breakup, but couldn't bring herself to inform them about what occurred at detention. It was too painful to hear James's voice in her mind, telling her that she was fake, that everything they ever had was fake.

Lily shook her head, indicating that she wasn't ready to talk quite yet.

"Please, Lils," Kelsey asked.

Still no response.

After a moment of silence, Kelsey's face lit up and she said, "Lily, if you won't tell me what's going on, will you do something else to get your feelings off your chest? When my parents first split up, my psychiatrist suggested writing letters to both of my parents, letting them know how I felt. That way, I didn't have to face them, but I could still tell them how they were affecting me."

"You have a psychiatrist?" Lily asked, looking up at her friend.

"Yeah, I have for years."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Lily commented. She paused for a moment before saying, "Tell me more about this letter thing."

"Well, you write the letter, yours would be to James, and let him know how your feelings. It's a way that you can get everything you've ever wanted to tell him off your chest… You can give him the letter today, in two weeks, or two years. In fact, you don't even have to give him the letter at all for it to work though. It's just a healing process for you. I know I still have letters for my parents that I haven't been able to give them quite yet," Kelsey explained.

"And it actually makes you feel better?" Lily questioned, looking a bit skeptical of the situation. All her life she never really bought the whole psychiatrist thing. She always thought of them as being people who overcharge others and aren't even useful.

"I think it does," she replied.

"Thanks."

"Are you going to write a letter?" Kelsey asked.

"Maybe," Lily replied with a sigh. Who knows, if she was really bored enough, she just might do it.

"Okay, well I've got to meet Pettigrew at the library to work on some stupid Herbology project, but I'll see you later," Kelsey said, making a quick exit as she spoke.

Lily sat there in her room, Kelsey's advice floating around her brain. Maybe it would help to write a letter… besides; it couldn't leave her much worse than she already felt. She reached over to the desk that stood next to her bed and fetched a piece of parchment, quill, and ink. She set it on top of a book to provide a hard surface and stared down at the empty page in front of her. Dipping her quill in the thick ink, she covered the quill with blackness. She dabbed it onto the blank page and wrote _Dear James_. That was all she got to before her mind went blank. She stared down at the almost blank page. She didn't know what to write.

She let out a large sigh, and to herself, she muttered, "This is stupid. Absolutely stupid." She placed the quill in the ink jar and allowed it to bob up and down in the liquid. Looking down at the parchment, she sighed and crumpled it within her hands. The paper felt rough beneath her grasp and the tiny corners dug deeply into her palms.

Once it was in a ball, she tossed it toward the trashcan. It deflected off the rim of the barrel and spun towards the carpeted ground. This was a bad sign. Generally, she never missed the basket. Ever since she was a little girl, and her father picked up the habit of tossing used paper into trash bins, Lily always copied him and made the basket. Today, however, the crumpled piece lay next to the basket.

She grabbed another sheet of parchment and began to write again. _Dear James. _She stopped writing, and sighed. What now? What did she have to say to James? She couldn't think of anything, which was very stupid. After all, they had such a strong history together these past few days. Still, she didn't know where to begin. Should she tell him that she still cared for him? Did she still care for him?

Or should she mention that she was sorry for all the pain that she caused? Should she tell him that if she could do it over again, she would have never dated him in the first place? However, did she really not want to have ever dated him? Did she want to forget all of the good times they had together? She was so confused.

She reread what she wrote. _Dear James. _ Shit. Was that all she really had? She let out a small noise was frustration before crumpling up this paper and sending it flying toward the trashcan. She didn't even look to see if it went in or not. Instead, she grabbed another sheet of parchment and forced the quill into her hand.

She wasn't going think about it anymore. That wasn't what this was all about. It was about writing down the first thing that enters your mind. It's about writing down what you instinctively feel, not trying to make it sound professional. After all, it was just a letter, not a paper to be graded.

She dipped her quill in the ink once more before draping her hand across the paper. Before she knew what happened, her hand began scribbling like a lunatic's. The words flowed from her brain directly into her hand, writing down exactly what she was feeling.

_When I set out to lose a guy in less than ten days, I didn't expect to become attached. I only thought that it was going to be about me. I only thought I would scare away someone; make him wish he never met me. It was selfish really, using someone for my own benefits. But I wanted nothing more than to get him off my case. I was sick and tired of the constant phrases he kept sending my way, such as, "Hey Evans, how about a game of wizard's chess. If I win I get to kiss you, if you win you get to date me." Followed by my response of, "I thought winners were supposed to get a prize, not a torture devise." Of course the list goes on, annoying words similar to those passed between us. I believe it's quite obvious why I wanted it all to end. I couldn't handle it any longer._

_So when the suggestion came up of dating my pursuer, just to drive him away, I anxiously jumped for the opportunity. I believed it was my way of getting back at him, not to mention a perfect way to get him off my back. However, the one thing I didn't expect to happen occurred. I fell in love with him. _

_It wasn't all at once, but slowly over time I could tell my attitude towards his antics was changing. I did anything possible to make it stop though, not wanting to give into my own emotions. Looking back on it, I was horrible. I didn't understand why he wouldn't leave me after just two days of dating. I was too blind to see his own plans unravel. _

_He had a bet with his friends; one that involved me. If I was in love with him by the end of ten days, he'd win money. If not, his friends would be the proud owners of fifty galleons. I should have realized this from the start. After all, what self-respecting man would ever stay with a woman who decorated his room pink and added feminine products to the bathroom? _

_I was blind though. I didn't see it at all. Perhaps I didn't want to see it either. I'll never forget our first kiss together. It was unlike any other I've ever experienced. His lips against mine were electrifying and sent shivers down my spine. If I hadn't been so obsessed with attempting to make his life a living Hell, I would have seen the passion. I know my body could feel the passion. It hated my mind for forcing the kiss to end. But it did come to an end. We were both left speechless for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. I could clearly see a yearning for more in his hazel eyes; one that I was sure matched my own. _

_It was then that things started to change for me. The kiss was too magical to pass off as just another kiss from some guy. It was the kiss, from a certain guy. It was breath taking. It was the type of kiss that couldn't come from just two ordinary people putting on an act. It was real. _

_Still, my brain was telling me no. It forced me away from my natural instinct. Instead, I was harsh and carried on with my plan. It made his life a living Hell, yet he stuck through it all. By day five of our relationship, we went to Hogsmeade. I was completely awful to him. I took him to an absurd restaurant, one that any sane person wouldn't step foot into. Once again, we shared a kiss. This one felt even more electrifying than the first. Of course, my stupidity took over once again and I forced us to stop our romantic act. The plan was the only thing that was important to me at that moment. _

_Yet, later that day, we got into a fight. He left me then, giving me exactly what I wanted. Yet, something didn't fell right about it. It felt weird not to have him around, almost sad. It was as if I spent the previous five days with him and couldn't bear to be apart any longer. Thankfully, we made up. I put on an act about it though, claiming it was torturing me to stay together. In reality, I couldn't have been more thankful. _

_It was that day that I believe a turning point came. I no longer found him repulsive. I no longer wanted to fake date him. Yet, I went along with the plan anyways, just to please my friends. I'll admit to the fact that I was weak. They were having just as much fun as I had originally been having by driving him away. It was all a game, but I didn't want to play any more. I wanted to be with him, but my friend's hopeful faces made me forget my needs and continue with the plan. _

_Whenever they were around, I was awful to him. Yet, when it was just the two of us, things changed. We engaged in truthful conversations, played games of Quidditch together, and even found ourselves in a magical night of passion. To say that the magical night we shared, by the fire, was dishonest would be a complete lie. It was at that moment, on that beautiful night, that I made the decision to not care what my friends said. That night it was just him and me. No one else was important. _

_The next night, I was ready to tell him the truth. I couldn't bear to keep it hidden any longer. I hated the constant lies that crossed between us. I hated the deception that I brought to our relationship. I was ready to give in. I wanted to tell him of the plan. I thought that if I was the one who told him the truth, that I dated him to drive him away but wound up falling for him, he might understand. Yet, something held me back. I was afraid. What he had was so good, and I didn't want to risk it. I figured that if he didn't know, I could just forget about it all and we could be together, like a happily ever after story. _

_Looking back on it, not telling him was the stupidest thing I've ever done. He found out about the plan, just as I found out about his bet. I'm not sure which was worse for me, finding out the truth or having him find out the truth. I felt insulted by his bet. It was like a stab in the heart. I thought he was better than that, more mature. I thought he genuinely liked me and wasn't in it for the money. I didn't realize it then, but my initial reaction was correct. He did care about me, a fact I learned a couple nights later, but that's beside the point. At that moment in time, I believed that he used me. He didn't care one bit about me and was a selfish pig. He wasn't the boy that I fell in love with that day; he was the boy I'd been trying to get rid of. _

_Still, I remember sliding down the stone wall until I reached the floor and crying. His words stung me. I'll never forget the look of anger and sadness all mixed into his hazel eyes. My heart wrenched. I knew he felt betrayed as well. He was humiliated to learn about my plan, just as I was about his bet. _

_My emotions flipped back and forth between being angry with him and sad about him. Part of me wanted nothing more than to throw him into the Great Lake to fend off all of the creatures that loomed beneath the water. However, the other side of me wanted him back. I wanted to tangle his messy hair in my fingers again. I wanted to hear him whisper sweet words into my ear as he wrapped his arms around me. _

_Two nights later, an unforgettable event occurred. We had detention together, which proved to be an awkward stage at first. Neither of us knew what to do. I was afraid to say what I felt, afraid that he would reject my feelings. I didn't want that to happen, I didn't want him to tell me he didn't love me. So I said nothing. We worked in silence. _

_However, that silence was broken eventually. Neither of us could help ourselves; the banter came easily to our lips. I suppose neither one of us were truly over the bet and plan. It was still too painful. We exchanged hurtful words, and I found it difficult not to cry. Still, I forced myself to conceal these feelings, something that I'd mastered over the past few days. _

_Then he said it, and I completely lost it. He told me that I didn't care about our night shared together in the Room of Requirement. He told me that I used him that night, beneath the sparkling stars and next to the campfire. He told me that I didn't love him as much as he had loved me. That was my breaking point. I couldn't handle it anymore. I needed to escape before my tears trembled down my cheeks. The moment the words left his lips, my heart crashed. How could he say such an awful thing? _

_Of course, I loved him just as much as he loved me. I've never felt this way about any other man before. I've never yearned for any boy to wrap his arms around me and hold me to his chest as much as I have for him. I've never cried myself to sleep before, until he walked out of my life. I've never had my heart broken before, until I met him. To say I didn't love him wouldn't be fair. I've never loved someone as much as I loved him in my entire life. I've never felt this way towards anyone. And I'm not entirely sure what about him draws me in, but something is there. My heart speeds up every time I see him, and I know it must be love. _

_When he accused me of not loving him, I had to get away. I couldn't even bear to look at him, that's how upset I was. I just needed to get away, escape from the room. I loved him, but I couldn't be with him at that moment. It was too painful. _

_Then he did something that scared me more than anything else did. He grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let me leave. The look in his eyes made my heart come to a complete stop. I've never seen him like that; it was almost deadly. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I just wanted to get away from him. _

_At the time, I thought it was because he was scaring me, to the point that he might hurt me. But looking back on it, that's not why I needed to leave. I needed to leave because of his comment beforehand. His physical presence didn't scare me; I knew if I needed to, I could get away. I could use my magic to escape him, not to mention I was confident he wouldn't do any serious harm. He always tried to protect me, even from the non-violent battles I faced due to my muggle heritage. _

_Now, as I sit in my room, I can only come to one conclusion. I love him. I don't care about the bet, it doesn't bother me anymore. It's not worth it. I love him; and nothing is ever going to stop that. _

_I'm certain he doesn't feel the same way. I know he once loved me, but he doesn't anymore. Still, I'm content with that. I know how I feel, and just as the saying goes, "it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." I loved James Potter, and I lost him. I suppose it's the way life works… _

Lily sat back and examined her work. It felt nice to relieve herself of the burden in her chest. It was finally out in the open. She could go on with her life now. Just as she realized towards the end of her writing, it's the way life works. If she was meant to be with James, it would have happened. But it didn't work that way and there was no use crying over it any more.

She dabbed her quill in the bottle of ink one last time and wrote his name across the envelope. She licked the envelope closed, trapping the letter inside. She then tossed it on her bed and smiled to herself. She was ready to move on with her life.

Lily walked toward the mirror that hung on the door. Staring at herself, she realized what a mess she was. She looked awful, like someone who hadn't showered in a week. Sighing, she grabbed fresh clothing out of her drawer and headed toward the showers. It was time to freshen up.

On her way, she glanced back down at her bed and saw the white paper glistening on top of the red sheets. She paused for a moment and thought about the words she wrote on the paper. He deserved to read it, but not quite yet. Maybe in a couple weeks, maybe in a couple years. She wasn't sure when she wanted him to read it, but knew that at some point, when they're both older and have lives of their own, he should read it. He deserves to know the truth.

Just as Lily walked into the shower and started up the water, Rina barged into the room. She walked right past Lily's bed, completely ignoring the letter. She had her own problems to deal with, important manners.

Clutching onto the handle of her desk, Rina forcefully opened the drawer. She pulled out a sheet of parchment, an envelope, a quill, and a bottle of ink. She plopped down on her own bed and dabbed the quill in the pot of ink before going to work on her own letter.

_Dear James, _

_I'm very sorry about what occurred between the two of us the other day. I was totally out of line and can only pray that you'll forgive my odd behavior. I don't know what came over me that day. I hope that we can be friends and maybe start from scratch. Remember, if you need a shoulder to lean against, I'm always open. _

_Yours, _

_Rina _

She shoved the letter inside the envelope and licked it shut before writing his name on the front of it. She knew it wasn't a perfect letter, but it was good enough. James was in a desperate mood, she was sure of that. Once he read her letter, despite how weak it was, he would surely fall in love with her.

Rina's plan to win over James was happening already, she could just tell. In a few days time she would be his girlfriend, the one thing she'd always dreamed of. James was the one wizard that she longed for, but couldn't have. She loved him, and soon enough, he was going to love her too.

She sat on her bed for a moment and examined the way she wrote James on top of the envelope. She could get used to writing his name, James Potter. As she thought about it, she could get used to writing much more than that… Mrs. James Potter, Rina Potter. Both were excellent options.

Her daydreaming was quickly interrupted, however, as Lily opened the bathroom door and appeared in front of her. Her red hair was still wet, but brushed straight down. Her eyes were finally alive again, showing a side of her that hadn't been seen in days.

"Lily," Rina exclaimed, jumping up from her bed. "I didn't know you were in there."

Lily only smiled at Rina, completely unaware of Rina's letter, which was hiding behind Rina on the bed. "Hello."

"How're you feeling?"

"Really good, actually," Lily admitted. She paused for a moment before asking, "Do you know if anyone is still in the Great Hall?"

"Yeah, I think Sam and Kelsey are in there," Rina replied. "You know, I'm actually going to walk down there now too, if you want some company."

"Sounds great," Lily hesitantly answered.

The two girls walked down to the Great Hall, making small talk as they walked. None of their conversations were very deep, only the occasional "What'd you think of McGonagall's test?" or "Have you done the Potions homework yet?" Other than that, they didn't speak very often.

Nor did either of them really mind the silence that passed between them. They were both lost in thought about their letters to James. Lily was contemplating when she should actually give the letter to him and Rina was thinking about what James's reaction to her letter would be. Ironically enough, neither girl knew of the other's letter.

When they reached the Great Hall, they separated immediately. Lily walked over to her friends, who were very surprised, but also delighted, to see her. Rina wandered over to Tracey, a smile plastered across her face.

"I need you to do something for me," she said at once.

"What is it?" Tracey questioned, looking up from her Potions homework. She wasn't really in the mood to deal with Rina at that moment, but Rina was her best friend, so she focused her attention on the girl across from her.

"I need you to give a letter to James for me," Rina informed her.

"Why can't you do it?" Tracey asked, a skeptical look across her face.

"I just can't," Rina replied. "He was so mad at me the last time we talked; I really can't face him… That is why I wrote him an apology letter. Will you give it to him, please?"

"I've got a lot of work to do," Tracey protested.

"What?" Rina snapped. "I thought you were my friend."

"I am."

"Really? If you were truly my friend, you'd allow five measly minutes out of your busy schedule to deliver a letter for me," Rina said.

Tracey sighed before responding, "Okay, I'll do it. Where is it?"

"Up in our room, on my bed," Rina excitedly replied. "Thanks so much Tracey, you're a doll."

"No problem," Tracey said, standing up from her spot at the table. She felt her stomach clench as she stood up. Something told her she shouldn't be messing around with Rina and James's personally lives, but Rina was her best friend. Just as Rina had always said, they were in it together through thick and thin. She couldn't just abandon her friend now.

She made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room with ease and noticed all four of the Marauders seated there. She noticed that James and Remus were both working hard at writing papers, presumably the large Transfiguration essay that was due tomorrow. Sirius and Peter were playing a game if wizard's chess. Her heart lurched again as she saw Sirius. A part of her still really liked him, despite the fact that it was such a short relationship.

She quickly darted up the stairs, not wanting to be caught staring at the Marauders. She immediately went towards Rina's bed and found the letter. She picked it up and was surprised to see how light it was, but didn't question it any further. She started to walk towards the door when something caught her eye. She whipped her head towards the direction of Lily's bed, her eyes catching a white piece of parchment. Wanting to examine it closely, Tracey walked over to the bed and picked up the surprisingly heavy envelope. _James Potter_ was written across the front of it and Tracey's heart sped up.

In her hands, Tracey held two very important letters, both addressed to James Potter. She glanced from one to the other and wondered what to do. She bit her lip slightly, allowing it to become tender against her teeth.

She stared at Lily's letter for a moment. Lily hadn't asked her to deliver the letter to James, but it seemed to be calling out to her, as if instructing her to give it to him. Besides, she knew the full story behind Lily and James. She knew exactly what Lily was going through. Tracey knew that Lily still cared for James, and could only presume that James was crazy about Lily as well.

In her heart, Tracey felt that she should give James Lily's letter. She wanted to leave Rina's letter here, in the dorm, leaving it to rot. Rina didn't belong with James, Tracey was sure about it.

Yet, at the same time, Rina was Tracey's best friend. Tracey immediately directed her eyes towards Rina's letter. Rina was depending on her to deliver the letter. Besides, it was only a letter, what harm could come from it? And Rina was her best friend. She was supposed to support her one hundred percent. Tracey was supposed to be behind Rina in everything, that's what friends were for.

Tracey looked at both letters again, still contemplating which one to deliver. She knew she had to make a choice. It was either Lily or Rina. It was either the girl that she found it easy to confide in or the girl who had been her best friend since first year. It was either the girl who loved James or the girl who was obsessed with James.

She didn't know what to do. Her mind and heart were having internal battles over the issue. It was either Lily or Rina. It couldn't be both. Sighing, Lily looked at both envelopes once more before tossing one aside. She knew what she had to do.

Slowly, she made her way out of the girl's dormitory and down to the common room. She noticed that none of the Marauders had moved at all, all four of them deeply engulfed in their current task. She looked at Sirius once more and bit her lower lips again.

Suddenly, she felt very wrong. The letter she held in her hand didn't feel right. What was she thinking? She chose the wrong letter. She looked at Sirius once more and saw him chuckle softly before Tracey turned on her heel and ran up the stairs.

Once inside the room, Tracey peered around until she found the letter that she needed to give to James. This time, as she descended the stairs, it felt right. She made the right decision, this she was sure of.

Tracey walked over to James and tapped him on the shoulder before thrusting the letter towards him.

"What's this?" he asked, looking curiously at the paper.

"It's a letter, from someone who really needed to talk to you," Tracey replied, a smile forming at her lips.

James looked up at Tracey for a moment, studying her every move. Finally, he said, "Thanks."

"Read it in private," she instructed.

"Okay,' he began before adding, "Why did you have to give it me, and not your friend?"

Tracey paused for a moment before replying, "She didn't know how you'd react… Remember, read it on your own."

---

Lily was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine when she heard a large banging noise on the window outside her room. She jumped at once, startled by the noise. No one else was in the room, which only made her heart pound faster.

Hesitantly, she peeked her head out from behind the curtains of her bed and looked toward the window. A boy was hovering at her window, only a broom supporting him. As it was dark outside, she couldn't tell exactly who it was; only the shape of the person.

Lily jumped to her feet at once and carefully crossed the room to get a better look at the figure outside. Once she was close enough to the window, she could clearly make out who it was. Outside her window was none other than James Potter.

Instinctively, Lily reached for the window's latch and pulled the glass door open. His chest was heaving slightly, as if he had just run fifty laps around the castle. His messy hair was more tangled than usual and his cheeks were slightly pink.

"James, what are you doing?" she asked.

He didn't respond to her question, instead countering her with a question of his own. "Is this true?" At that moment, he pulled out a long letter written on several pages of parchment. It was her letter.

"How'd you get that?" she self-consciously asked.

"Tracey gave it to me," he answered before questioning, "Is it or is it not true?"

Lily's mind was swarming. Why did Tracey give the letter to James? How did she even know about the letter? She blinked for a moment, regaining her focus back on James. He was looking out at her with urgent, hopeful eyes. She felt her heart pound as she replied, "Of course it's true."

His expression lightening up at once, his features relaxing. "Lily, I'm sorry for everything."

"Me too," she softly replied.

"Can we talk or something?" he asked.

Lily peered out at him and bit her lower lip. Did she really want to talk with him now? Yes, she was sorry about everything. Yes, he was apologizing for his actions. Yes, she did love him. But at the same time, something was holding her back. Maybe they weren't meant to be together; maybe they were supposed to stay apart.

"I, I don't know," she slowly stated.

James stared at her for a moment, his expression turning hard once more. They stared at each other in silence for a moment; James floating on his broomstick, Lily standing at the windowsill. Finally, James's eyes lit up and he quickly said, "Hold on one second." He then went zooming off. She watched until she couldn't see him any longer, which wasn't very far away. It was dark outside, difficult to see anyone more than twenty feet away.

Soon enough, James appeared at the window again, returning to Lily. He held out a small bush in his hands and a large grin appeared on his face.

Lily looked at the shrub for a moment before a smile came to her face as well, "It's our love bush."

"I fixed it," he informed her.

"I see that," she replied, the smile still on her face.

"Now, please, Lily, I'm begging you, just come out here and talk with me," James pleaded. He had a desperate look in his eyes, one that made it hard for Lily to turn down.

"James," she began.

"Please," he repeated.

"What if we're not meant to be together," she finally blurted out. She leaned forward a small amount, leaning her hands against the windowsill ledge.

"How can you say that?" he asked.

"James, we tried it, but it obviously didn't work out between us," she replied.

"Or, or Lily just go with me on this one. Maybe you were meant to make that stupid plan. If you didn't, we would have never started dating in the first place. And maybe I was meant to make a bet with Sirius, otherwise I would've lost my mind from all the torture you put me through and would have broken up with you. But we did have those two factors, those were what kept us together long enough to realize that we're perfect for each other," he said.

"Then why'd we break up?" she softly asked.

"I don't know… I do know though, that if you come with me now, I promise it won't happen again," he replied, a genuine look in his eye.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I can't stand to be without you," he answered, flying in a bit closer to her.

Lily felt her heart beat faster. This was what she needed. Her instincts about James Potter were wrong. She couldn't just love him and forget about him. She needed him. She could tell right then, right at that moment. She belonged with James Potter.

She smiled at him before leaning out the window to latch onto his body. He maneuvered her onto his broom, placing her in front of him. He softly kissed the back on her head, her sweet scent of shampoo bringing back some of the best memories of his life.

Just as the two were getting on the broom, the door inside Lily's dorm room slammed open. In walked Tracey and Rina, both girls looking pleased.

However, Rina's pleasure soon faded as she saw Lily and James outside the window. She stared at them, her eyes wide open. Frantically, she looked around the room and spotted her letter still on her bed. She turned toward Tracey and grabbed her by both shoulders, "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tracey casually replied, looking out the window at the young couple as they struggled to embrace each other and stay afloat on the broom at the same time.

"The letter," Rina snapped, walking over to her bed and grabbing the object she spoke about. "Why is it here and not with him?"

"Sorry, Rina, I must have picked up Lily's letter instead," Tracey replied, a small smile forming at eh corner of her lips.

Rina's entire body clenched up and she growled, "I thought you were supposed to be my best friend."

"And I thought you were supposed to be mine, but things change," Tracey smartly replied, a smug smile still on her face.

"What are talking about?"

"Hmm, well would a best friend use me to break up Lily and James? Or would a best friend use me to transport stupid letters that she was capable of doing herself? And finally, would a best friend obsess about James Potter right after Sirius dumped me? Guess what Rina, the answer to all three is no. You're answer to all three was yes," she stated, her hands on her hips as she spoke. It felt so good to get everything off her chest.

"Tracey, you're not being reasonable," Rina said, although her voice showed a hint of nervousness.

"Me? Let's talk about you for a minute Rina," Tracey snapped. "You're the one who is gallivanting around James and trying your hardest to try and get him to pay the slightest bit of attention toward you when it's more than obvious that he's in love with Lily. But you can't accept that, can you? I've got news for you though, she loves him, he loves her, end of story. You and James are never going to happen, get over it."

Rina looked like she had been slapped across the face. "Tracey…"

"No, Rina, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be your bitch anymore," she casually replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see how Lily's doing over at the window."

With that said, Tracey proudly walked across the room. She was finally free from Rina's spell. She no longer felt the need to impress Rina or be there for her at any minute of the day. She felt free now. It was an uplifting experience, talking back to Rina then. Tracey smiled and leaned against the windowsill; she saw Lily and James at once and smiled in their direction. The young couple was finally settled and ready to leave.

However, before Lily and James flew off into the darkness, Lily stared straight at Tracey and mouthed, "Thank you."

Tracey beamed out at the beautiful redhead and mouthed, "Thank you," right back at her. If it wasn't for Lily, she'd still be serving under Rina's beck and call.

Lily grinned back at Tracey before leaning her back into James's chest and allowing him to take control of the broom. In a matter of minutes, Lily and James landed softly on the ground and dismounted the broomstick.

James stared at Lily as she stood beneath the shining moon and stars; she looked radiant. Her emerald eyes were full of life, her hair shined, and her pearly white teeth seemed to glow. In fact, Lily seemed to glow. She was fabulous.

"What?" she questioned, feeling slightly insecure as he stared at her.

"Nothing," he softly replied. He paused for a moment before asking, "Do you want to dance?"

To say Lily was surprised was an understatement. She had no idea that James would ever offer to dance, let alone the fact that he knew how to dance. "I'd love to."

He approached her and grabbed one hand into his while placing the other on her lower back. He shorted the gap between them almost instantly, wanting to be able to smell Lily's strong scent. He wanted to be able to stare at every millimeter of her emerald eyes. He wanted to take everything about her into his memory.

As they danced beneath the moonlight, both Lily and James found themselves overwhelmed with happiness. They were finally together, just as it was meant to be.

After several minutes went by, James suddenly perked up and got a curious look across his face. "Lily," he began, "When you were talking about future children, you didn't really want to name them Breeze and Fern, right?"

A broad grin went across her lips and she giggled as she replied, "No, James, not in a million years."

"So you were just kidding about naming a daughter James too, right? Because I'm not going to lie, when you first told me those names, I thought I'd walked right into Hell itself," he half joked.

Suddenly, Lily's face became very serious. "I really like the name James for a girl," she told him a sincere voice.

His eyes went wide, he couldn't believe he already messed. Their newly started relationship hadn't even been in affect for ten minutes yet.

Sensing his fear, Lily quickly said, "I'm only kidding, don't worry. James as a girl's name, that's almost as bizarre as Fern and Breeze." Once she saw his face melt a little, a smile appeared at her lips again. She couldn't help laughing at him; the fear in his eyes, the gullible attitude he just had. It was a very humorous situation, at least from her point of view.

"What'd you laughing at?" he asked, a grin forming at his lips.

"You," she honestly answered, letting a chuckle escape.

"Me?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Well, that's not acceptable." He suddenly stopped dancing with her and picked her off her feet before crashing down to the ground. He pinned her beneath him, which only made them both start to laugh hysterically.

"James," she whined in between deep giggles. "Let me go."

He didn't say anything back, but lightening his weight from her body. He held himself up on his elbows and knees, which cascaded around her small form. He smiled down at her in a way that caused them both to stop laughing. He lightly moved one of his hands toward her face and stroked a lone strand of hair out of her face.

"I love you," he stated, peering down at her.

"I love you too," she said. It wasn't the type of 'I love you' that comes mandatory after someone else mutters the words, it was genuine. Both Lily and James had found their true love.

James leaned down, allowing his body to rest against hers. He placed a kiss on her lips, taking in their sweet taste. He felt her kiss him back at once, devouring his mind, body, and soul into one single mind-blowing kiss.

All too soon, James broke away from her, giving them both room to breath. He looked down at her smiling face and knew his own face expression matched hers.

"You know what this means?" Lily asked, not being able to resist herself.

"What?" he playfully questioned.

"You're going to need to keep the love bush alive for quite some time."

---

The End

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Okay, so here it is, the final chapter! I hope you all enjoyed every minute of the story, I know I did. For me, it was one of my favorites to write! I want to thank anyone who has ever reviewed and/or read this, it means the world to me! Thank you all so much, you are all amazing! Now, I have one final request, please review!


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